Department of Health and Social Care

General Practitioners: Postnatal Care

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of GP practices offer a six week postnatal check-up; and what information his Department holds on the take-up of such checks at those practices.

Steve Brine: All general practitioner (GP) practices are expected to provide maternity medical services for their registered patients. Practices may however exceptionally choose to opt out of providing such services e.g. on workload grounds. Practices which choose to opt out will relinquish a proportion of their global sum income – currently 2.1%. It is the responsibility of the lead commissioner locally (NHS England or clinical commissioning groups under delegated agreement) to ensure the patients of opted out practices can continue to access these services e.g. commissioning the service from a nearby alternative practice. NHS England and the Department do not collate data on the number of practices that have opted out but financial information gives some indication as payments to these practices are reduced to fund the re-commissioning of services. Financial data from 2016/17 suggests that up to four practices out of the 7,523 opted out of maternity medical services, which includes the six week postnatal check-up. NHS England and the Department do not collect information on the number of patients who have their post-natal check at their GP practice.

Department of Health and Social Care: Business Interests

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which members of his Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for former Ministers and senior civil servants.

Caroline Dinenage: Applications by former Ministers are considered by the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments directly. For applications from former Civil Servants: Departmental Audit and Risk Committees, which are chaired by Departmental Non-Executive Directors, will monitor compliance issues relating to the Business Appointment Rules at regular intervals.

Hospitals: Admissions

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients stayed at an NHS hospital in England for 14 days or longer in 2017.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients stayed at an NHS hospital in England for 30 days or longer in 2017.

Stephen Barclay: Information is shown in the following table which is a count of finished discharged episodes (FDEs)1 with a spell duration2 of 14 or 30 days or longer in National Health Service hospitals for the financial year 2016-17. This is a count of hospital episodes, not individual patients, as the same person may have been admitted into an NHS hospital on more than one occasion. YearDurationTotal FDEs2016-1714 days763,8512016-1730 days271,569Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Digital Notes: 1A FDE indicates whether the episode is a finished discharge episode (whether the patient was discharged at the end of the episode). 2The difference in days between the admission date and the discharge date, where both dates are given.

Hospitals: Parking

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England charge visitors of inpatients to park.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England charge staff to park.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England have introduced (a) free parking and (b) concessionary rates for blue badge holders since 2014.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England have introduced (a) free parking and (b) concessionary rates for frequent outpatient attenders since 2014.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England have introduced (a) free parking and (b) concessionary rates for (i) visitors with relatives who are gravely ill and (ii) carers of such people since 2014.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England have introduced (a) free parking and (b) concessionary rates for (i) visitors of relatives who have an extended stay in hospital and (ii) carers of such people since 2014.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England have introduced (a) free parking and (b) concessionary rates for staff working shifts that prevent the use of public transport since 2014.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England have introduced (a) free parking and (b) concessionary rates for volunteers since 2014.

Stephen Barclay: The information is not collected in the format requested. National Health Service car parking data is collected annually through Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC). All ERIC data is published at: http://hefs.hscic.gov.uk/ERIC.asp The 2016-17 figures show that out of 1,043 hospital sites that have designated disabled parking, 132 charge for disabled parking which includes disabled people, people with temporary disabilities as well as Blue Badge holders. The table below shows the latest ERIC car parking data for 2017  2016-17Parking spaces available (Number) 452,379Designated disabled parking spaces (Number) 23,660Average fee charged per hour for patient/visitor parking (£) 1.32Average fee charged per hour for staff parking (£) 0.19Do you charge for disabled parking (Yes/No/None)Yes132No925None110Total1,170 The Patient Led Assessment of the Care Environment (PLACE) system assesses the quality of the patient environment. It is a voluntary self-assessment which takes place annually, and applies to hospitals, hospices, and day treatment centres providing NHS funded care. PLACE includes questions on car parking relating to the charging, concessions, and payment methods, including “Does the organisation provide car parking charge concessions?”: Total responses = 391 Yes = 346 = 88% No = 45 = 12% All PLACE data is published at: http://hefs.hscic.gov.uk/PLACE.asp The Department published clear guidelines (the car parking principles) for NHS organisations that they are expected to follow. However, the provision of parking spaces and the level of any charges are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS organisations must have the autonomy to make decisions that best suit their local circumstances. Details of charges, concessions and additional charges should be well publicised including at car park entrances, wherever payment is made and inside the hospital. They should also be included on the hospital website and on patient letters and forms, where appropriate. As the guidance makes clear, hospitals should put concessions in place for those who most need help including disabled people, carers and staff who work shifts. The NHS itself is responsible for ensuring that charges are fairly applied. Patients, visitors and staff who have problems with car parking should therefore contact the NHS organisation which runs the car park.

Firearms: Licensing

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of GPs who are co-operating with the system of placing a marker on the medical notes of a person who has shotgun and firearm certificates.

Steve Brine: The Department does not hold this information. The system is run by the Home Office.

Firearms: Licensing

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the level of charges that GPs pass on to applicants for medical reports required for new or renewed shotgun and firearms certificates.

Steve Brine: The Department has made no assessment on this issue.

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many operations at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have been (a) postponed and (b) cancelled in the most recent three months for which data is available.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publishes quarterly performance data on the number of last minute elective operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons. This can be accessed via NHS England’s statistical work areas webpage at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancelled-elective-operations/cancelled-ops-data/ The National Emergency Pressures Panel (NEPP) met on 2 January 2018 and recommended that non-urgent operations be deferred until 31 January 2018 to increase capacity for emergency cases. NEPP’s recommendations to trusts were clear that cancer operations and procedures where deferral would lead to a deterioration in the patient’s condition were not in scope and should continue as planned. NHS England and NHS Improvement will undertake a review of the arrangements and interventions undertaken this winter, including the recommendations issued by NEPP on the deferment of patients’ routine elective treatment. For those patients who have not had new appointments, cancelled operations should be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity, taking into account patients’ clinical need.

Surgical Mesh Implants: Females

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to collect data on the number of women who have had vaginal mesh surgery who experienced (a) pain, (b) a reduction in the quality of sex life, (c) constant urinary infections and (d) a reduction in the quality of life.

Jackie Doyle-Price: On 21 February, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced the establishment of a prospective registry covering urogynaecological pathways for stress urinary incontinence and prolapse, including procedures using mesh implants. Registry data will support the understanding of comparable benefits, risks and patient outcomes over time. NHS Digital is in the process of undertaking a retrospective audit (secondary analysis of existing data) of surgery for stress urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse, which will help the National Health Service to better understand complications related to surgery using vaginal mesh. Analysis will include the number of patients who have undergone an operation and will investigate in part their subsequent interactions with the NHS through hospital outpatient appointments. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA’s) Yellow Card Scheme allows patients to report any adverse outcomes experienced from the use of a medical device, no matter how long ago the surgery took place. The MHRA is continuing to enhance awareness of the Yellow Card reporting system for adverse outcomes to increase reporting rates among both clinicians and patients.

Surgical Mesh Implants: Females

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of banning vaginal mesh for (a) pelvic organ prolapse and (b) stress urinary incontinence; what steps his Department is taking to improve surgical training those procedures; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government keeps the evidence under review and at this point in time takes the view that the evidence does not support a ban of the use of vaginal mesh devices. While the Government understands that some women have experienced serious complications, for many women the use of mesh has had positive outcomes. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has considered all evidence available, in the United Kingdom and worldwide. The MHRA’s view is that both the evidence and the greater proportion of the clinical community support the use of these devices as part of an appropriate treatment pathway where the associated benefits and risks are considered when treating the conditions of stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. As with all medical devices, the MHRA continues to monitor relevant evidence as it becomes available. The NHS England Mesh Working Group Interim Report (2015) recommended that the established hospital doctors’ appraisal systems in each hospital trust should be used to ensure surgeons undertaking mesh procedures are appropriately trained and current in their practice; adhere to clinical guidance; comply with national data submission requirements; and report complications. NHS Improvement has written to all trust Responsible Officers asking them to ensure this is implemented.

Surgical Mesh Implants

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of surgical mesh implants have shrunk after being inserted.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Between 2013 and 2017, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) received 18 adverse incident reports including the terms “shrunk” or “shrink” (or similar) relating to surgical mesh to treat stress urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse. It should be noted that these figures include a range of recognised complications related to this type of surgical procedure and do not necessarily indicate a fault with any particular device. These figures include reports from manufacturers, healthcare professionals and members of the public and therefore may not necessarily represent an individual patient. As there is no limiting time on reporting, people can make multiple reports at any time after the mesh has been implanted and on the same issue.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is sufficient workforce capacity to deliver the Faecal Immunochemical Test.

Steve Brine: NHS England remains committed to the implementation of Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) testing within the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme from 2018. During 2018 NHS England will finalise a number of practical steps to ensure when FIT is implemented it is sustainable. NHS England will work with Public Health England to deliver the practical arrangements for managing the production and distribution of FIT kits, and with local providers to ensure sufficient workforce capacity to support the roll out of FIT.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the financial sustainability of Halton Clinical Commissioning Group.

Steve Brine: The National Health Service leadership bodies have developed their own plan for delivering financial balance and sustainability for the NHS. We support that plan and through the 2015 Spending Review, the Government committed to a real terms increase of £10 billion in NHS funding by 2020-21, compared to 2014/15. But it is for local leaders in Sustainability and Transformation Partnership areas, working together with NHS England and NHS Improvement, to deliver against their own plans to achieve financial sustainability. We are keenly aware that local issues exist within the national plan, but as with all public services, local NHS areas need to live within their means. NHS England and NHS Improvement will continue to work with areas to balance their financial plans.

Supported Housing: Inspections

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many supported housing providers have de-registered from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in each year since 2009-10, broken down by the latest overall CQC rating.

Caroline Dinenage: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following response: The table below shows how many supported living services providers have deactivated in each year since 2009-10, broken down by the latest overall CQC rating where available. A deactivation does not always indicate a service has closed. It could be caused by a number of factors, including a change in the location’s provider/address/legal entity which requires a new registration. Therefore the following information is not indicative of the true number of closures; the number of true closures will be lower than the numbers reported below.  Provider still registered or not forcibly de-registered1Deactivation Financial YearOutstandingGoodRequires improvementInadequateNo published rating22010-11000032011-1200002982012-1300003362013-1400002992014-1503102922015-160302162682016-1718936101982017-18111322393Total223580191,787 Notes: 1This includes locations that have deactivated but the provider is still registered or where a location has deactivated and the provider voluntarily deregistered. 2The CQC began rating these services in the financial year 2014-15.

Supported Housing: Closures

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many supported housing providers were closed due to poor Care Quality Commission ratings in each year since 2009-10.

Caroline Dinenage: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following response: The CQC does not close down registered services due to an inadequate rating alone. Enforcement action is taken due to providers breaching regulations; the most serious of these breaches can result in the CQC taking action to suspend or remove a service’s registration. There will also be a number of providers who voluntarily deregistered prior to the CQC completing enforcement action. These are not included in the following table. Number of Supported Living Service locations1 forcibly deregistered by the CQC 2010 - 18Financial YearNumber of locations22010-1102011-1212012-1332013-14112014-1572015-1662016-1722017-1833Total33 Notes: 1CQC register supported living services at location level.2Locations with the service type description - 'Supported Living Service'.3Data correct up to and including 1 March 2018.

Mental Health Services: Children

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds records on the amount of money spent in (a) Cornwall, and (b) North Cornwall constituency on children’s mental health services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is not collected in the format requested. However, information on the spend made by clinical commissioning groups on children and young people’s mental health services is published by NHS England in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard. The latest information is for quarter 4 for 2016/17 and is available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/mental-health-five-year-forward-view-dashboard/

Rhabdomyosarcoma

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of money spent on research into Rhabdomyosarcoma in each of the last five years.

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of money spent on research into childhood cancers in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department funds research into all aspects of human health, including cancer, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) at the level of £1 billion per year. NIHR cancer research expenditure has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £137 million in 2016/17. The Department does not routinely collect data on research expenditure on individual tumour types. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Julia Lopez: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the total sleep­ in back pay liability is estimated to be for providers in (a) Hornchurch and Upminster constituency and (b) London Borough of Havering Council.

Caroline Dinenage: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) on 26 February 2018 to Question 128962.

Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to allocate funding for a new hospital for Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust.

Stephen Barclay: Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust was one of over 300 National Health Service schemes that applied for capital funding provided in the autumn Budget for Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) transformation schemes. The spring and autumn Budgets last year announced that additional capital funding will be made available to support NHS STPs in delivering improvements in their infrastructure to support transformation of services, support their ability to better meet demand for local services and drive efficiency improvements. Provisional funding for the first 37 successful schemes was announced in July and November 2017. The Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust application was one that did not score sufficiently high against the criteria to be taken into the cohort to be considered for the next round of funding. NHS Improvement and NHS England informed the Trust via the Cheshire and Merseyside STP of the outcome in December 2017 and advised that where schemes can be strengthened these can be considered through the future opportunities for STPs to access future capital funding tranches. NHS Improvement has also worked with regional teams to enable systematic feedback to STPs on how their schemes might be strengthened.

Perinatal Mortality

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make available on the NHS a balloon-type device to prevent still-birth deaths.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Innovative healthcare interventions such as the Fetoscopic tracheal occlusion procedure must be thoroughly evaluated. Once such an evaluation has been completed the National Health Service will consider whether the intervention should become recommended practice.

Social Services: Older Poeple

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the views of people living in care homes are taken into account during consultations on the Green Paper on care and support for older people.

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking ensure that the responses of people who do not have access to the internet are taken into account in its forthcoming consultation on care and support for older people.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government is committed to ensuring that the consultation which follows the publication of the Green Paper in summer 2018 seeks the broadest possible range of views in order to build consensus around the reforms which are needed. Detailed plans for the consultation will be confirmed nearer the time. Ahead of the Green Paper’s publication, the Government is working with experts, stakeholders and people using care and support services to shape the long-term reform which is needed.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish the findings of the Deloitte and King's College audit of the liability of the social care sector for sleep-in shifts.

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the findings of the Deloitte and King's College audit of the liability of the social care sector for sleep-in shifts.

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Government fully meeting the costs in the care sector of any liability and back-pay relating to sleep-in shifts.

Caroline Dinenage: Both the Deloitte and King’s studies have fed into the Government’s work on sleep-ins. The information requested forms part of the evidence base that is being used to assess options and is subject to further analysis and refinement. Consequently there is no timetable for publication. These studies have assisted Government officials in their understanding of the scale of the liabilities that the social care sector is facing. The Government recognises the pressure that has been placed on the sleep-in sector by historic liabilities for back pay and is exploring options to minimise any impact on the social care sector.

Childbirth

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of births that take place (a) in obstetric maternity units, (b) in midwife-led units that are (i) freestanding and (ii) alongside an obstetric unit, (c) at home, and (d) in any other setting.

Jackie Doyle-Price: In October 2017 NHS Digital, for the first time, collected data relating to the setting in which babies are born. The following table shows the count of babies by place of birth for the Month of October.Count of babies by Place of Birth type, Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS), October 2017Place of BirthCount of babiesProportion of babiesMidwifery unit, co-located with consultant obstetric unit3,2107.9%Midwifery unit, co-located with other non-obstetric consultant unit980.2%Midwifery unit, stand alone8642.1%Midwifery unit, type not known1,3393.3%At a domestic address7241.8%GMP ward10.0%Consultant ward15,15137.3%Consultant/GMP/midwife ward18,34445.2%Private hospital10.0%Other hospital or institution160.0%Ward/unit without delivery facilities1470.4%None of the above7021.7%Total where known (All Submitters - 124 from 132 expected submitters)40,597 Not known621Missing Value / Value outside reporting parameters5,165Source: MSDS, NHS Digital.

Hospitals: Parking

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of NHS hospitals in England which have introduced free parking or concessionary rates for staff who car-share since 2014.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of NHS hospitals in England which prioritise parking for staff whose daily duties require them to travel by car.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of NHS hospitals in England which manage their own parking facilities.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of NHS hospitals in England which have outsourced the management of their parking facilities to a private company.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of NHS hospitals in England which have a Private Finance Initiative contract associated with their parking facilities.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of NHS hospitals in England which have entered into a Private Finance Initiative associated with their parking facilities since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: The information requested is not collected centrally. National Health Service car parking data including the number of NHS hospitals that charge for disabled car parking is collected annually through Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC). All ERIC data is published at: http://hefs.hscic.gov.uk/ERIC.asp The 2016-17 figures show that out of 1,043 hospital sites that have designated disabled parking, 132 charge for disabled parking which includes disabled people, people with temporary disabilities as well as Blue Badge holders. The provision of parking spaces and the level of any charges that are made to use them are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS organisations must have the autonomy to make decisions that best suit their local circumstances. Details of charges, concessions and additional charges should be well publicised including at car park entrances, wherever payment is made and inside the hospital. They should also be included on the hospital website and on patient letters and forms, where appropriate. The Department published clear guidelines (the car parking principles) for National Health Service organisations that they are expected to follow. The guidelines are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles Hospitals should put concessions in place for those who most need help including disabled people, carers and staff who work shifts. The NHS itself is responsible for ensuring that charges are fairly applied. Patients, visitors and staff who have problems with car parking should therefore contact the NHS organisation which runs the car park. The NHS trust remains responsible for the actions of any private contractor they may employ to manage their hospital car parking service.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if officials of his Department will meet patient organisations to ensure the patient voice is heard during the re-negotiation of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

Steve Brine: Officials have met with patient organisations regarding their views on future medicines pricing arrangements on a number of occasions. Officials will continue to meet with patient organisations during 2018.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2017 to Question 115087 on Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme, whether a decision has been made on the timing of negotiations with industry on the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

Steve Brine: Informal discussions have already begun with industry regarding future medicines pricing arrangements. Formal negotiations will begin during 2018.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the recommendations in the report, Impact of Adverse Experiences in the Home on Children and Young People, commissioned by his Department, published in September 2015, were included in his Department's Green Paper, Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision, published in December 2017.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We recognise the link between adverse childhood experiences and poor mental health. We will take into consideration the three principles for action set out in the report, ‘Impact of Adverse Experiences in the Home on Children and Young People’: early intervention and prevention, integrated working and proportionate universalism, as well as other suggested “potential areas for action”, in taking forward the proposals set out in ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: a Green Paper’.

Department of Health and Social Care: Apprentices

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Caroline Dinenage: As of 28 February 2018 there are 27 apprentices in the Department. This makes up 1.78% of the current workforce.

NHS: Finance

Mr Simon Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to Question 127238, what comparative estimate he has made of the change in the level of real term funding for the NHS in 2017-18 and 2020-21 .

Stephen Barclay: The change in the level of National Health Service funding between 2017-18 and 2020-21 is presented in the table below. NHS EnglandNHS England Total Departmental Expenditure Limit (cash) £ billionsCash increase %NHS England Total Departmental Expenditure Limit (2017-18 prices) £ billionsReal terms increase %2017-18109.93.7%109.92.1%2018-19114.03.8%112.42.3%2019-20115.92.1%112.60.2%2020-21119.12.8%113.81.0%

Nurses: Training

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people applied to undertake undergraduate mental health nursing degrees in the UK in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department is not responsible for collecting data on the number of applications to study nursing and midwifery degree courses. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service publishes data on the number of applications to full-time undergraduate courses. Further information and links to 2017 and 2018 application cycle data are available at: https://www.ucas.com/corporate/data-and-analysis

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS England plans to publish the next iteration of the Mental Health Dashboard.

Jackie Doyle-Price: On 31 January, NHS England published the latest update of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard, showing data at a national level for the six-month period from April to September 2017. A full version of the Dashboard will be published by the end of March 2018.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on negotiations with the European Commission on state aid relating to financial assistance for social care providers who may have historic sleep-in liabilities; and what contingency plans the Government has made for the failure of such negotiations.

Caroline Dinenage: Government officials have made the European Commission aware of the issue, and held an initial meeting with them. This will provide the Government with guidance on how any support, which might be available, could be granted legally within state aid rules. The Government is exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector and is committed to ensuring that the social care sector is stable, both for those receiving care and for care workers.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the Deloitte study on the effect of sleep-in back payments on the social care sector; and what timetable has been set for the production of the Frontier Economics and LaingBuisson study on that sector.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government has commissioned Frontier Economics and Laing Buisson to conduct a second phase of market analysis, which is due to be completed in April. The Deloitte and Frontier Economics studies of sleep-in back pay liabilities form part of the evidence base that is being used to assess options and are subject to further analysis and refinement. Consequently there is no timetable for publication.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all staff in mental health settings have appropriate qualifications and training; and what steps his Department is taking to enforce minimum standards on staff-to-patient ratios in mental health settings.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Staff caring for patients with severe mental illness come from a wide variety of backgrounds and are employed within a large number of settings and by a large range of employers, including private clinics, local authorities, private individuals and families and the voluntary sector. Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) requires providers of health and care services to deploy enough suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of the people using the service. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) guidance relating to Regulation 18 is as follows: “In order for providers to meet the requirements of Regulation 18, providers must provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service at all times and the other regulatory requirements set out in this part of the regulations. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role and responsibilities. They should be supported to obtain further qualifications and provide evidence, where required, to the appropriate regulator to show that they meet the professional standards needed to continue to practise.” Further information on Regulation 18 is available at the following link: http://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/regulations-enforcement/regulation-18-staffing#guidance The CQC’s inspection teams should always assess nurse staffing levels on mental health wards. More broadly, the CQC would look for signs that there might be a problem with staffing levels - for example: high use of agency and bank staff, apparent high rates of sickness absence, staff reporting that they are stressed, over-worked or cannot spend enough time with people who use services or people who use services reporting that staff are “too busy” to spend one-to-one time with them.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of the Royal College of Psychiatrists', published on 21 February 2018, on mental health trust income levels, if will he provide information on the level of funding for mental health committed to in the current financial year; and what the funding will be spent on.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Total spending of £11.86 billion is planned for mental health in 2017/18, which includes both clinical commissioning group spending and specialised commissioning. Expenditure on mental health services, and progress against the Mental Health Investment Standard is tracked on the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard which is available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/taskforce/imp/mh-dashboard/ The document ‘Implementing the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health’ includes indicative breakdowns for expected spend on mental health services for the current financial year by national programmes delivering the Five Year Forward View which is available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/fyfv-mh.pdf

Russell Hume: Inspections

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much meat was detained at the 15 cold stores inspected as part of Russell Hume inquiry.

Steve Brine: As part of the Russell Hume inquiry, over 1,677 pallets of meat have been detained at cold stores across England and Wales. As detained meat is not necessarily rejected as un-fit for human consumption, weights are recorded at the point of disposal. Thus, it is not possible to give a clear indication of the total weight of detained meat. The difficulty in providing weights is further exacerbated as multiple product types have been detained.

Genetics: Screening

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on (a) jobs and (b) patient care of the potential reduction of genetic testing facilities in Newcastle.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government has welcomed and accepted the recommendations in the Chief Medical Officer for England Annual Report ‘Generation Genome’ published in July 2017. In her report, Dame Sally Davies recommended the recommissioning of genomics services nationally. NHS England launched a procurement for genomic laboratory services in December 2017, which is still live. The aim of the procurement is to put in place a world-class resource for the National Health Service delivering cutting-edge genomic technology to deliver equitable access for patient benefit. As part of the evaluation NHS England will assess, amongst other areas, the proposed organisational and governance structures of the genomic laboratories and their ability to deliver high quality genomic tests equitably to patients across England.

Genetics: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to commission an external evaluation of the 100,000 genomes project.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The project is regularly reviewed by Infrastructure and Projects Authority which provides independent assurance to the most complex and strategically significant projects across Government. A number of pilot sites were in operation prior to the start of the 100,000 Genomes Project. Following the evaluation of these pilot projects, processes were put in place for how the 100,000 Genomes Project is delivered at scale across the country. Learning from the 100,000 Genomes Project has been key to the development of a new National Genomic Medicine Service and National Genomic Test Directory by the National Health Service in England both of which will become operational in autumn 2018. A study ‘Understanding Experiences of Recruiting for and Participating in Genomics Research’ is being undertaken at the Departmental–funded Policy Innovation Research Unit. The study will include people's experience of taking part in the 100,000 Genomes Project and is due to report in 2018.

Restraint Techniques: Essex

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of instances of physical restraint recorded at (a) North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, (b) South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and (c) Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17 and (iii) 2017-18.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of inpatient suicide deaths recorded at (a) North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, (b) South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and (c) Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17 and (iii) 2017-18.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital collects data on restrictive interventions through the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS). The data for 2017/18 is not yet available and the data for 2015/16 is incomplete as it is from a previous data set, the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Data Set (MHLDDS). The MHLDDS only covers eight months of the year from April 2015. Due to the changes in scope across the two data sets they would not be directly comparable. NHS Digital has provided the number of recorded instances of physical interventions in 2016/17 only from the MHSDS:- North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust – 195; and- South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust – 1,065. Data for Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is not yet available as the organisation only opened on April 2017.Data on deaths by suicide by mental health provider are not routinely collected centrally.

General Practitioners: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2017 to Question 9140, on General Practitioners: Enfield, what information NHS England holds on how many and which GP practices (a) closed and (b) opened in the London Borough of Enfield in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013.

Steve Brine: NHS England does not hold details of practices changes between 2010 and 2013. However, according to NHS Digital, the table below shows the general practitioner practices that were opened or closed between 2010 and 2013, for the London Borough of Enfield.Calendar YearOpenedClosed2009/10--2010/11--2011/12Evergreen Surgery Ltd-2012/13--2013/14-BHP Edmonton North Middlesex NHS Walk In Centre Practices may close for a variety of reasons, including mergers with neighbouring practices or the retirement of general practitioners from single-handed practices. A reduction in practice numbers does not necessarily correspond with a reduction in the quality of care. Much of the trend to work in larger groupings is provider driven, in line with the strategic intent to provide primary care at scale and to create back office efficiencies.

Department for Work and Pensions

Unemployment

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce the length of time that unemployed people spend out of work.

Alok Sharma: As of the quarter October-December 2017, UK unemployment was 1.47 million people. This is 1.039 million lower than for the quarter February-April 2010.Jobcentre Plus has a flexible support model to provide support and District Managers have discretion on how to target interventions. The model has three elements: a core regime of regular face-to-face meetings; flexible work coach support; and a flexible menu of support options.Where Jobcentre Plus District Managers identify gaps in skills or other provision they have discretion to purchase extra support to meet particular needs using the Flexible Support Fund.Jobcentre Plus work coaches can advise claimants on the localised provision and support available, either by employment sector or skills/employability.

Unemployment: Thornbury and Yate

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of unemployment in the Thornbury and Yate constituency since 2010.

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she made of trends in the level of unemployment in South Gloucestershire since 2010.

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of trends in the level of unemployment in the South West since 2010.

Alok Sharma: The level of unemployment in South Gloucestershire, estimated using the Annual Population Survey, was 5,700 for the year to September 2010. For the latest period (the year to September 2017) the level of unemployment was estimated at 6,200. This rise was not statistically significant. Data from the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Labour Force Survey shows that since the 2010 General Election (the quarter to April 2010), the level and rate of unemployment has fallen in every region and country of the UK. The level of unemployment in the South West currently stands at 107,000 (the quarter to December 2017) – down by 51,000 since the 2010 election. Note: The sub-regional data is estimated by the ONS, using the Annual Population Survey. The level of unemployment in Thornbury and Yate was estimated at 1,400 in the year to September 2017. This figure is subject to a high degree of statistical uncertainty due to very small sample sizes. This means we cannot make a reliable comparison with the 2010 estimate of 2,000.

Unemployment: Thornbury and Yate

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of trends in the level of female unemployment in the Thornbury and Yate constituency since 2010.

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of trends in the level of female unemployment in South Gloucestershire since 2010.

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of female unemployment in the South West since 2010.

Alok Sharma: The level of female unemployment in South Gloucestershire, estimated using the Annual Population Survey, was 2,200 for the year to September 2010. For the latest period (the year to September 2017) the level of female unemployment was 2,500. This rise was not statistically significant. The level of female unemployment in the South West, estimated using the Labour Force Survey, stands at 59,000 in the quarter to December 2017 – down from 66,000 before the 2010 election (the quarter to April 2010). The female employment rate is 70.8% - a joint record high – and there are now over 15 million women employed in the UK. Note: The sub-regional data is estimated by the ONS, using the Annual Population Survey. The information requested for Thornbury and Yate constituency is not available because the level of female unemployment in Thornbury and Yate constituency was unpublished due to very small disclosive sample sizes.

Unemployment: Thornbury and Yate

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of youth unemployment in the Thornbury and Yate constituency since 2010.

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of trends in the level of youth unemployment in South Gloucestershire since 2010.

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of trends in the level of youth unemployment in the South West since 2010.

Alok Sharma: Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that in the quarter to December 2017 youth unemployment in the South West was 37,000, down by over 25,000 since the 2010 election (the quarter to April 2010). Nationally, youth unemployment is down by over 390,000 since the 2010 election (the quarter to April 2010) – to stand at 547,000. Note: The youth unemployment data is estimated by the ONS, using the Annual Population Survey. The level of youth unemployment in South Gloucestershire was estimated at 2,500 in the year to September 2017. This figure is subject to a high degree of statistical uncertainty due to very small sample sizes. This means we cannot make a reliable comparison with the 2010 estimate of 2,400. The information requested for the Thornbury and Yate constituency is not available because the level of youth unemployment in Thornbury and Yate constituency was unpublished due to very small disclosive sample sizes.

Employment and Support Allowance: Parkinson's Disease

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson's disease have been placed in the (a) support group and (b) work-related activity group with a prognosis statement of (i) three months, (ii) six months, (iii) 12 months, (iv) 18 months, (v) two years and (vi) more than two years at work capability assessments in each year since the introduction of employment and support allowance in 2008.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is shown in the table below. Published statistical information must always be rounded to prevent the identification of individuals. Number of Employment and Support Allowance recipients, with a main disabling condition of Parkinson's Disease, placed in the Support Group (SG) or Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) following a Work Capability Assessment by prognosis and assessment type by year of completed assessment, Great Britain   Year of completed assessment Prognosis2008220092010201132012201320142015201620174TotalInitial SG Total-10010020030030040040020020021003 months-----------6 months-----------12 months----------20018 months----------200Not for 2 years----100-100---300Not in the longer term-100-1002002003003002001001400Terminally ill-----------Unknown-----------Initial WRAG Total-200300100100-----8003 months----------1006 months----------10012 months--100-------20018 months----------100Not for 2 years----------100Not in the longer term--100-------200Terminally ill-----------Unknown-----------Repeat SG Total---10030030020010040010013003 months-----------6 months-----------12 months----------10018 months----------100Not for 2 years----100-----200Not in the longer term---1002002002001003001001100Terminally ill-----------Unknown-----------Repeat WRAG Total--100200200100----4003 months-----------6 months-----------12 months---100------10018 months----------100Not for 2 years----------100Not in the longer term----100-----200Terminally ill-----------Unknown-----------IBR SG Total...100300600200---13003 months...--------6 months...--------12 months...--------18 months...--------Not for 2 years...-100100----200Not in the longer term...100300500200---1000Terminally ill...--------Unknown...--------IBR WRAG Total...-100100----3003 months...--------6 months...--------12 months...--------18 months...--------Not for 2 years...-------100Not in the longer term...-100100----100Terminally ill...--------Unknown...--------Source for all tables: Application data is derived from administrative data held by the DWP and assessment data provided by the Healthcare Provider. Notes:The figures are rounded to the nearest 100. “–” denotes zero or fewer than 50. ‘.’ denotes not applicable.The information for 2008 cover the period from October 2008 only; this is the first month for which is information is recorded.National roll-out of IB reassessments began in March 2011. As a result, the 2011 figures for IB reassessment cover the period from March to December only.The information for 2017 is provided up to June 2017 only; this is the latest data available at time of request.An individual may have made more than one ESA claim or had more than one assessment in any given year. These individuals will only be counted once in each of the figures provided. The primary medical condition recorded on the claim form does not itself confer entitlement to ESA. So, for example, a decision on entitlement for a customer claiming ESA on the basis of Parkinson’s Disease would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities assessed by the work capability assessment.

Universal Credit

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the roll-out of Universal Credit on levels of child poverty.

Alok Sharma: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I provided to Question 125103 on 01 February 2018.

Personal Independence Payment

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many completed second or third personal independence payment assessment planned award reviews there have been of people with (a) Parkinson's disease, (b) multiple sclerosis, (c) motor neurone disease, (d) rheumatoid arthritis and (e) cystic fibrosis by year of repeat assessment since the introduction of personal independence payments in 2013; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Parkinson's Disease

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson's disease have been given personal independence payment awards of (a) enhanced rate daily living and (b) enhanced rate care by length of award in each of the last three years.

Sarah Newton: The table below shows the number of people who have been awarded either one or both of the Daily Living and Mobility components at the enhanced rate of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for awards made between November 1st 2014 and 31st October 2017, where the main disabling condition recorded was Parkinson’s Disease.Table 1: Enhanced PIP Daily living and Mobility component awards made between 1st November 2014 and 31st October 2015 with main disabling condition recorded as Parkinson’s Disease. (a) Enhanced Daily Living (may also have Enhanced Mobility)(b) Enhanced Mobility (may also have Enhanced Daily Living)   Total Awards1,000550Indefinite Award180160Finite820390Of which  Less than 1 year70301 year80302 years2701103 years2301204 years60305 years70406 years007 years008 years009 years0010 years204010+ years00Short Term Award1010Source: PIP ADS   Table 2: Enhanced PIP Daily living and Mobility component awards made between 1st November 2015 and 31st October 2016 with main disabling condition recorded as Parkinson’s Disease. (a) Enhanced Daily Living (may also have Enhanced Mobility)(b) Enhanced Mobility (may also have Enhanced Daily Living)Total Awards1,6501,290Indefinite Awards790730Finite Awards870560Of which  Less than 1 year40201 year60302 years2401203 years2701904 years80605 years1201006 years##7 years008 years009 years##10 years504010+ years##Short Term Award1010Source: PIP ADSTable 3: Enhanced PIP Daily living and Mobility component awards made between 1st November 2016 and 31st October 2017 with main disabling condition recorded as Parkinson’s Disease (a) Enhanced Daily Living (may also have Enhanced Mobility)(b) Enhanced Mobility (may also have Enhanced Daily Living) Total Awards2,3101,890Indefinite Award1,4401,400Finite Award870490Of which  Less than 1 year20101 year30202 years2701303 years3101604 years100605 years100806 years##7 years008 years009 years0010 years302010+ years00Short Term Award1010Source:PIP ADSNotes for tables:Figures are based on the first outcome recorded for each case and include both new claims and DLA reassessment claims assessed under normal rules.Data has been rounded to the nearest 10 cases; totals less than 5 but greater than 0 are indicated by “#”.This is unpublished data and it should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.Data is based on main disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system.Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.The one year award length group includes cases whose award lengths are in the range 1-1.5 years. The two years award length group includes cases whose award lengths are in the range 1.5-2.5 years, and so on.The greater than 10 years group includes cases whose lengths are greater than or equal to 10.5 years but excludes cases whose award is indefinite.Award lengths are calculated from the date of on-flow to PIP to the review date.

Personal Independence Payment: Parkinson's Disease

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson’s disease with an indefinite disability living allowance award received a (a) one-year award  (b) two-year award or (c) no award following reassessment for personal independence payments in the latest period for which figures are available.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Detailed Reassessment Outcome statistics for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-october-2017Table 8D of the “Personal Independence Payment: DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes, October 2017” tables shows the outcomes of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants reassessed for PIP by their main disabling condition. Please note this is not broken down by the length of DLA award but will give the DLA reassessment outcome for people with Parkinson’s disease.

Employment Support Allowance: Brighton

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect on employment support allowance (ESA) claimants resident in Brighton and Hove in the (a) support group and (b) work related activity group of having to travel to Lewes for ESA assessments; if she will provide an ESA assessment centre in Brighton and Hove; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: The Department’s requirement is that claimants do not have to travel for more than 90 minutes by public transport (single journey) for a Work Capability Assessment. However, this limit is an absolute maximum and for the majority of claimants their journey will be less than this. The vast majority of claimants in the Brighton and Hove area are within the maximum acceptable travel time by public transport of an Assessment Centre. Where this isn’t the case, or claimants are unable to attend an Assessment Centre due to their health condition or impairment, they can be offered a taxi or home appointment as appropriate. We keep the estate we use for the Work Capability Assessments under constant review.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants with (a) cystic fibrosis, (b) rheumatoid arthritis, (c) motor neurone disease, (d) multiple sclerosis and (e) Parkinson's disease have been (i) placed in the support group, (ii) placed in the work-related activity group and (iii) found fit for work at Work Capability Assessments in each year since 2008.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is shown in the table below. Number of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants with at least one work capability assessment outcome, with a main disabling condition of Cystic Fibrosis, Motor Neurone Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease or Rheumatoid Arthritis, by assessment type, assessment outcome and year 20082 to 20174, Great Britain  ‘000sConditionYear of completed assessmentAssessment type - Outcome08091011121314151617TotalCystic FibrosisInitial - Support Group-0.10.10.10.20.10.20.20.10.11.0Initial - WRAG--0.1-------0.1Initial - Fit for Work--0.1-------0.1Repeat - Support Group---0.10.10.10.1-0.20.10.6Repeat - WRAG----------0.1Repeat - Fit For Work-----------IBR - Support Group...0.10.20.30.1---0.6IBR - WRAG...-------0.1IBR - Fit for Work...--------Motor Neurone DiseaseInitial - Support Group-0.10.20.20.20.20.20.20.20.11.5Initial - WRAG----------0.1Initial - Fit for Work-----------Repeat - Support Group----0.10.1--0.1-0.3Repeat - WRAG-----------Repeat - Fit For Work-----------IBR - Support Group...-0.10.1----0.2IBR - WRAG...--------IBR - Fit for Work...--------Multiple SclerosisInitial - Support Group-0.50.70.91.51.31.81.51.10.79.7Initial - WRAG-0.70.90.50.30.10.10.10.1-2.8Initial - Fit for Work-0.40.40.30.30.20.10.20.30.12.2Repeat - Support Group--0.20.8221.80.43.71.19.7Repeat - WRAG--0.40.60.70.30.1-0.1-1.7Repeat - Fit For Work---0.10.10.1--0.10.10.5IBR - Support Group...1.44.272.30.70.50.116.2IBR - WRAG...0.51.10.90.1---2.6IBR - Fit for Work...0.10.10.1----0.3Parkinsons DiseaseInitial - Support Group-0.10.10.20.30.30.40.40.20.22.1Initial - WRAG-0.20.30.10.1-----0.8Initial - Fit for Work-0.20.10.10.1--0.10.10.10.8Repeat - Support Group---0.10.30.30.20.10.40.11.3Repeat - WRAG--0.10.20.20.1----0.4Repeat - Fit For Work----------0.1IBR - Support Group...0.10.30.60.2---1.3IBR - WRAG...-0.10.1----0.3IBR - Fit for Work...--------Rheumatoid ArthritisInitial - Support Group-0.20.20.30.60.61.00.90.50.34.5Initial - WRAG-0.70.90.60.60.30.20.20.20.13.7Initial - Fit for Work-0.80.90.60.70.50.30.60.60.35.2Repeat - Support Group--0.10.30.81.41.50.41.90.85.9Repeat - WRAG--0.40.81.20.80.40.10.20.13Repeat - Fit For Work--0.10.30.30.20.20.10.40.21.7IBR - Support Group...0.51.52.61.10.50.30.16.6IBR - WRAG...0.82.21.70.30.1--5IBR - Fit for Work...0.20.50.30.1---1.2 Source: Application data is derived from administrative data held by the DWP and assessment data provided by the Healthcare Provider. Notes:The figures are rounded to the nearest 100. “–” denotes zero or fewer than 50. ‘.’ denotes not applicable.The information for 2008 covers the period from October 2008 only; this is the first month for which this information is recorded.National roll-out of Incapacity Benefit Reassessments (IBR) began in March 2011. As a result, the 2011 figures for IB reassessment cover the period from March to December only.The information for 2017 is provided up to June 2017 only; this is the latest data available at time of request.An individual may have made more than one ESA claim or had more than one assessment in any given year. These individuals will only be counted once in each of the figures provided.The primary medical condition recorded on the claim form does not itself confer entitlement to ESA. So, for example, a decision on entitlement for a customer claiming ESA on the basis of Cystic Fibrosis would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities assessed by the work capability assessment.Initial refers to customers who are having their first assessment after making a claim for ESA, whereas Repeat refers to any assessments done following the initial assessment.IBR refers to customers who are having their first ESA assessment after having migrated over from Incapacity Benefit.

Universal Credit

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the number of Universal Credit claimants who have a level of deduction from the standard allowance (a) at the 40 per cent and (b) above the 40 per cent level.

Alok Sharma: Of all Universal Credit Full Service awards in January 2018: (a) 6% had a total deduction amount (either to a third party, for an advance, or for a fraud penalty) which equalled 40 per cent of the standard allowance(b) Less than 0.5% had a total deduction amount which exceeded 40 per cent of the standard allowance. In these cases, a priority order is applied so that deductions for rent or fuel costs are applied first, in order to protect claimant welfare. If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in deductions be considered.

Plumbing: Pensions

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the financial effect on members of the Plumbing and Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme of the operation of section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995.

Guy Opperman: As I explained in the adjournment debate on 11 January our Green Paper sought views about the current Section 75 employer debt regime and we have considered carefully the evidence made available by a number of pension schemes who responded, including the Plumbing and Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme. We have also assessed the impact any changes in this area could have on pension scheme members, and all other sponsoring employers.

Occupational Pensions

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timetable is for the publication of the White Paper on Security and Sustainability in Defined Benefit Pension Schemes.

Guy Opperman: Our upcoming White Paper is due to be published this spring and will set out our position on this issue of Employer Debt and what, if any, action Government may take.

Occupational Pensions

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of changes to the liability of small and family business under s.75 of Employer Debt Regulations.

Guy Opperman: As I explained in the adjournment debate on 11 January, there are a number of parties whose needs must be considered and it would be wrong to look at one party’s issues in isolation. Government must carefully weigh the impact on the security of pensions members have worked hard for, the remaining employers in the scheme, the PPF and its levy payers, when considering whether any change to the current regime is justified.

Access to Work Programme

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of Access to Work funding will have their funding capped as a result of the introduction of a cap in April 2018.

Sarah Newton: The Equality Analysis https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-access-to-work published in May 2015 provides estimates of the number of people who would be affected by a cap on Access to Work awards.

Work Capability Assessments: Chronic Illnesses

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps has she taken to ensure that work capability assessments take account of the fluctuating nature of degenerative illnesses.

Sarah Newton: The Work Capability Assessment has been designed to take full account of progressive conditions such as Parkinson’s. If an individual has a progressive health condition, the Healthcare Professional takes this into consideration when providing advice to the Decision Maker. Healthcare Professionals are trained to ask about and take account of fluctuation.The assessment gives people with fluctuating conditions the opportunity to explain how their condition varies over time. The capability for work questionnaire directly asks if a person’s condition varies in how it impacts on their ability to complete activities over time, and if so to give details of how this affects them as an individual.

Members: Correspondence

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) shortest, (b) average and (c) longest time taken by his Department to respond to Members' casework inquiries on behalf of constituents was in respect of (i) universal credit, (ii) jobseeker's allowance and (iii) employment support allowance in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Alok Sharma: The Department does not measure the timings as requested in the question and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost. However, the Department has a 15 working day target for MP to Director General Correspondence and a 20 working day target for Ministerial correspondence. These timescales are in line with Cabinet Office directives. Our latest internal data for year to date performance currently runs at 93% and 99% respectively, for correspondence answered within these timescales.

Universal Credit: Internet

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) shortest, (b) average and (c) longest periods were between submitting an online application for universal credit and attending a first appointment to begin a new claim in (i) Birkenhead constituency and (ii) England in the last month for which figures are available.

Alok Sharma: We aim to verify claimants’ identify and agree a claimant commitment with them within 10 days of the declaration of claim, approximately 3 weeks before the first payment will fall due. However, the information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Department for Work and Pensions: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by her Department are apprentices.

Kit Malthouse: DWP’s headcount at the end of January 2018 is 83,147 of which 2,563 are currently undertaking an apprenticeship. This equates to 3.1% of DWP employees as of 31 January 2018.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people that will sell their home because of the introduction of the replacement loan for support for mortgage interest payments.

Kit Malthouse: There is no reason for anyone to sell their home because of the introduction of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the replacement loan for support for mortgage interest payments is based on the Gilt interest rate.

Kit Malthouse: SMI loans are interest bearing at the Gilt Forecast Rate, as set out in the most recent forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). This rate was chosen as this reflects the cost of the Government borrowing to fund SMI loans.

Universal Credit: Internet

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128375, on Universal Credit: Internet, if he will publish a timetable for those features mentioned which have a higher priority than the establishment of an online password reset function for universal credit claimants.

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128375, on Universal Credit: Internet, if she will she set an estimated year of delivery for the development of an online password reset function for universal credit claimants.

Alok Sharma: Improvements to features including those for making payments to claimants, further enhancements to the security of the system and features to improve the experience of people with specific needs are being addressed before the online password reset. It would not be useful to produce a schedule of changes as they are constantly reviewed and adapted as we work in an agile environment. We are continually delivering the functionality that gives the most value at any time, whilst ensuring the service is safe, secure and performing. This method ensures we will deliver this functionality at the most appropriate point.

Universal Credit: Internet

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128375, on Universal Credit: Internet, what funding the Government has made available for the development of IT systems for universal credit; and which private contractors her Department has commissioned to develop such systems.

Alok Sharma: Expenditure on the development of IT systems for Universal Credit to February 2018 is approximately £500 million. The key IT providers who have supported the development include:· Accenture· IBM· DXC· CapGemini· Capita· Thoughtworks· Mongo· Oracle· Experian· Booking Bug· SCC· Computacenter· BT· RedHat· Amazon Web Services Development of the Universal Credit Full Service is being led by an in-house team.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2018 to Question 128116, what the average time taken is between (a) a complaint being received on the equalisation of the state pension age and (b) the completion of checks on that complaint to establish it can be accepted for examination by her Department's independent case examiner.

Kit Malthouse: The average time taken from receipt of a complaint about the equalisation of the state pension age, to the point at which the Independent Case Examiner’s Office makes a decision on whether it can be accepted for examination is currently 4 weeks.

Occupational Pensions

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to minimise the extent of liabilities imposed on small business owners by the operation of section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995.

Guy Opperman: Following a Call for Evidence on Section 75 Employer Debt in Non-Associated Multi-Employer Defined Benefit Pension Schemes we are introducing a deferred debt arrangement in April that will help small employers in managing an employer debt. On 26 February we published a response to the consultation on the draft Occupational Pension Schemes Regulations 2017 together with a final version of the regulations.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to research published by the Family and Childcare Trust on childcare costs published in February 2018, whether her Department has plans to change the current limit on childcare costs covered by universal credit.

Kit Malthouse: We have already increased the level of support for childcare costs within Universal Credit from 70% to 85%, it’s highest ever level. This is more generous than the support available to people on legacy benefits, and means that hard working families on Universal Credit can now reclaim up to 85% of their eligible childcare costs. This gives parents up to £646.35 per month for one child and £1108.04 per month for two or more children. The Government now provides more support than ever before to help parents with the costs of childcare, including providing 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, doubling free childcare available for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week. DWP has no plans to change the current limit on childcare costs covered by Universal Credit.

Home Office

Home Office: Business Interests

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which members of her Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for former Ministers and senior civil servants.

Victoria Atkins: It is the responsibility of every civil servant and Minister to ensure that they observe the Business Appointment Rules and consider whether to make an application under the rules when they take up any new paid or unpaid appointment within two years of leaving ministerial office or Crown service.Human Resources Directorate have procedures in place to remind Home Office civil servants of their responsibilities under the Business Appointment Rules. As Ministerial appointments are handled by the Cabinet Office on behalf of the Prime Minister, they retain responsibility for ensuring the proper application of the rules by former Ministers.

Knife Crime Community Fund

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the criteria are for accessing her Department's knife crime community fund.

Victoria Atkins: The anti- knife crime Community Fund invited bids for funding in October 2017. Bids were assessed on the extent to which they demonstrated the following criteria:Delivery of outcomes to tackle knife crime;A proven track record of delivering local interventions;Ability to work with children and young people;Value for money; andHow they will work in partnership with other projects and services already being delivered in the local area.The Community Fund received 368 bids and 47 were awarded funding. In total £765,000 was made available to support the successful bids in 2017/18.

Members: Correspondence

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128880, how much further (a) funding and (b) FTE staffing her Department has deployed to the MPAM team.

Caroline Nokes: Since September 2017 we have recruited 32 FTE into the MP AM teams nationally both to support the increase in correspondence and to support all our MPs activities.

Members: Correspondence

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128880, on how many occasions the MPAM team did not to respond to written correspondence from an hon. Member within the service standard of 20 working days from receipt in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: Data about MPs’ letters and emails sent on behalf of constituents, including intake, number of cases answered within 20 working day target and performance, are published athttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data

Immigration

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the information contained in the migration transparency data release provided in the Answer of 28 February 2018 to Question 128881, what definition her Department uses for a straightforward case; and how many and what proportion of cases have been classified as a straightforward case in each five years.

Caroline Nokes: A straightforward case is defined as one where the customer has met all their obligations for example; providing all relevant details, enrolled biometrics on time and paying the appropriate fee. The case is also considered to be free of any adverse indicators such as criminality, security concerns and fraudulent behaviours including adverse immigration history.The number of visa applications is published as part of the Migration Transparency data, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data

Home Office: Chief Scientific Advisers

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,  when the last time was that each Minister in her Department met the Departments Chief Scientific Adviser.

Amber Rudd: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Key Forensic Services: Insolvency

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2018 to Question 128775, on Key Forensic Services: Insolvency, which police forces were contracted with Key Forensic Services prior to that company entering administration.

Mr Nick Hurd: I welcome the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s and Association of Police and Crime Commissioner’s swift action to minimise the impact on the criminal justice system and protect evidence for live cases. The contractual arrangements are a commercial matter for the police and the company.

Hamza bin Walayat

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will reconsider the application for asylum made by Hamza bin Walayat.

Caroline Nokes: The United Kingdom has a long and proud history of granting asylum to those who genuinely need our protection, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention. Each claim is carefully considered on its individual merits.

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total amount was that each police force received from the police precept in 2017-18.

Mr Nick Hurd: Council tax and precept information for England is published by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and is available at the link below.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-levels-set-by-local-authorities-in-england-2017-to-2018Information for Wales is published by the Welsh Government at:https://statswales.wales.gov.uk/Catalogue/Local-Government/Finance/Council-Tax/Budget-Requirement/budget-requirement-policeauthoritybudgetrequirement-by-policeauthority

Home Office: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by her Department are apprentices.

Victoria Atkins: The number and proportion of staff employed in the Home Office as apprentices are in the attached table.In addition to the figure recorded we have around 170 more apprentices currently going through pre-employment checks who, subject to successful completion, will be in post by the end of the financial year.



Table - PQ 130971
(Excel SpreadSheet, 8.8 KB)

Immigration: EU Nationals

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what evidence will be required for EU citizens to prove five years of continuous residency after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: We​ ​have​ ​agreed​ ​with​ ​the​ ​EU​ ​that​ ​the​ ​eligibility​ ​criteria for UK settled status​ ​will​ ​be​ ​the​ ​same as,​ ​or​ ​more​ ​favourable than,​ ​​those​ ​set​ ​out​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Free​ ​Movement​ ​Directive​ ​for​ ​acquiring permanent​ ​residence. The​ ​UK​ ​will​ set ​the​ ​evidence requirements​ ​to​ ​suit​ ​the demands​ ​of​ ​this​ ​unique​ ​situation. ​For​ ​example, we will not ask applicants to account for every trip that they have taken out of the UK, nor will we require evidence of comprehensive sickness insurance.For those who already hold a valid EEA permanent residence document, there will be a simple process to exchange this for a settled status document, subject to ID verification and submission of a photograph, a security check and confirmation of ongoing residence. The previous residence assessment will not be re-done.The new system will be streamlined, user-friendly and will draw on existing Government data to minimise the burden on applicants to provide documentary evidence. Further, more detailed evidential requirements are being developed and will be published in due course.

Forensic Science: Regulation

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February to Question 124886, whether FSR-C-133 was issued to any providers during its development.

Mr Nick Hurd: During the development of all documents, the Forensic Science Regulator consults with appropriate key stakeholders. In relation to FSR-C-133, which will set standards, there has been extensive consultation with forensic science providers, which is still ongoing until a final draft is issued for wider public consultation.

Home Office: Publications

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of the 1 November 2017 to Question 110846, when she plans to publish (a) The Review on Counter Terrorism Strategy and (b) Understanding the costs of cyber-crime: a report of key findings from the costs of cyber-crime working group.

Mr Ben Wallace: As the threat we face from terrorism becomes more complex, our strategy needs to evolve with it. We will publish our updated CONTEST strategy in due course.The ‘Understanding the Costs of Cyber Crime’ report was published on 18 January 2018, and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-the-costs-of-cyber-crime

Refugees

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will assess the potential merits of expanding the definition of refugees to include people displaced by environmental factors.

Caroline Nokes: The Refugee Convention 1951 is an international treaty which sets the global definition of who is a refugee. It does not have an explicit category that covers those displaced by environmental factors. The government continues to work with our global partners to address the causes of forced migration, including as part of UN discussions on proposed international compacts on migration and asylum.The government takes the issue of climate change and those displaced as a result of climate change extremely seriously, which is why we are proud of our contribution under the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by her Department are apprentices.

Mr Shailesh Vara: My Department currently employs 3 apprentices, which equates to 2.87% of the workforce.

Treasury

Children: Poverty

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of HMRC calculations of child poverty in working households; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to take steps to improve the accuracy of HMRC estimates of the extent of child poverty.

Elizabeth Truss: In the most recent publication “Personal tax credits: Children in low-income families local measure: 2015 snapshot as at 31 August 2015” published on 28 February, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs explained that the introduction of Universal Credit and the High Income Child Benefit charge would have an impact on the publication’s estimates of number of children in low income families, and made an assessment of the impacts. As a result, HMRC are engaging with users of these statistics to better understand the implications of these impacts so it can develop and assess options for improving these statistics so they continue to meet user needs.

Employee Benefit Trusts

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to regulate employee benefits trusts following the Roadchef Employees Benefit Trust case; and if he will make a statement.

Mel Stride: I refer the Hon Member to my written answer of 5 July 2017 (UIN 1465).

Tax Avoidance

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many penalties related to tax avoidance HMRC has collected in each year since 2010.

Mel Stride: The information requested is only available at a disproportionate cost.

Tax Avoidance

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax avoidance schemes HMRC has closed in each year since 2010.

Mel Stride: The government is committed to tackle avoidance, evasion and non-compliance at all levels and has introduced over 100 measures since 2010 protecting over £175 billion in tax revenues. Where tax avoidance is suspected HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigates and challenges those arrangements, through litigation if necessary.HMRC wins around 90% of avoidance cases taken to litigation and has protected over £6.8 billion of tax in the last three years, with many more people settling their tax affairs before reaching this stage. The marketplace for tax avoidance has shrunk in the past 4 years seeing the number of new schemes disclosed under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regime fall by 95% since 2005/06.Litigation outcomes and DOTAS disclosures statistics are available on GOV.UK.

Empty Property: VAT Zero Rating

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received a zero rate of VAT on sales of homes that are empty for more than 10 years in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received from exemption on cultural admission charges in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Mel Stride: The details that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collects from taxpayers on their VAT returns are not specific enough to provide the number of people benefiting from this relief. HMRC does not require this level of detail because it would place a considerable administrative burden on businesses.

Landfill Tax: Dredging

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received an exemption from landfill tax for dredging waste in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received an exemption from landfill tax for pet cemeteries in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Mel Stride: HMRC landfill tax returns do not require taxpayers to specify which relief applies to material that is not subject to tax. It is therefore not possible to establish how many taxpayers benefitted from a particular exemption. HMRC does not require this level of detail because it would place a disproportionate administrative burden on business.

Railways: Scotland

Alan Brown: To ask the Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Transport, Official Report, column 943, what the funding methodology is for the allocation of rail funding to the Scottish Government for Control Period 6.

Elizabeth Truss: The Scottish Government will receive the equivalent spend by Network Rail in Scotland in Control Period 5, plus a population share of the equivalent change in spend in England and Wales between Control Period 5 and Control Period 6. The Scottish Government will also receive usual Barnett consequentials on any additional enhancements committed for England and Wales in due course at future fiscal events. This is consistent with current funding arrangements under the Barnett Formula.

Treasury: Apprentices

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Robert Jenrick: There are currently 18 apprentices working at HM Treasury, which represents 1.3% of the total paid staff headcount

Sanctions

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2018 to Question 126717, if he will publish (a) the total value of suspected breaches to each sanctioned country and terrorist group, (b) which banks and financial institutions are suspected of having breached the sanctions; and (c) criminal and other action taken against those responsible for suspected breaches of sanctions.

John Glen: The total value of suspected breaches reported to OFSI in 2017 was approximately £1.4 billion. OFSI does not publish a breakdown of suspected breaches by each sanctioned country and terrorist group. OFSI does not publish information about individuals or entities suspected to have breached financial sanctions. OFSI assesses all cases of suspected non-compliance with the regulations and takes the appropriate action in each case. Appropriate action may include: taking no further action; issuing a warning letter; using information powers to require the provision of information on how a person who has breached the regulations will improve compliance in the future; using information powers to share information with appropriate regulatory bodies, where that furthers or ensures compliance with the financial sanctions regulations; or referring the most serious cases to law enforcement agencies for criminal investigation. It is a matter for law enforcement to make any referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service. The Government demonstrated its commitment to ensure more robust implementation of financial sanctions by establishing the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in March 2016 and bringing forward new powers in the Policing and Crime Act 2017 to strengthen enforcement, including the power to impose monetary penalties for breaches of financial sanctions. Under that Act, the Treasury is required to publish reports about the imposition of monetary penalties when it considers it appropriate. OFSI does not publish reports of compliance actions other than monetary penalties.

Sanctions

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many breaches of financial sanctions there were in (a) 2014, (b) 2015 and (c) 2016; and what the aggregate value of such breaches was.

John Glen: The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) was established on 31 March 2016. Prior to the establishment of OFSI there were 441 reports of suspected breaches to HM Treasury between September 2013 and December 2015. As of 7 March 2018, 107 cases reported to OFSI in 2016 have been determined as breaches, with an approximate aggregate value of £281 million. Some cases reported to OFSI in 2016 are still under investigation and therefore this figure may be subject to change.

Signature Living: Business Premises Renovation Allowance

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims for relief under the Business Premises Renovation Allowance scheme were granted to Signature Living Ltd in (a) 2015-16 (b) 2016-17; and what the value of each of those claims was.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs has a duty to protect taxpayer confidentiality so is unable to provide this information.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Business Interests

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which members of his Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for former Ministers and senior civil servants.

Margot James: Applications by former Ministers are considered by the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments directly. For applications from former Civil Servants: Departmental Audit and Risk Committees, which are chaired by Departmental Non Executive Directors, will monitor compliance issues relating to the Business Appointment Rules at regular intervals.

Service Industries: Job Creation

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support the UK hospitality industry’s job growth target of employing an additional 19,000 jobs in the sector by 2020.

Michael Ellis: We are absolutely committed to supporting the continued growth of the Tourism and Hospitality industry. We continue to work closely with key stakeholders to ensure continued jobs creation - as well as meeting the ambitious employment growth targets.

Service Industries: Employment

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to support the hospitality industry’s upcoming campaign entitled Hospitality Works; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Ellis: Yes. Hospitality Works ran from the 7 February 2018 to 7 March 2018. This was a joint initiative between DWP and Trade Bodies (British Hospitality Association, Association of Licensed and Multiple Retailers and the British Beer & Pub Association) and partners (SpringboardUK).

Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers: British Hospitality Association

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations his Department has received on the potential effect on the hospitality sector of the proposed merger between the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers and the British Hospitality Association.

Michael Ellis: The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport met the newly appointed CEO of UKHospitality on 1st March 2018 and the Department will work closely with this new trade body. Both UKHospitality and DCMS have ambitious targets for driving continued Tourism and Hospitality growth - and we look forward to developing collaborative programmes that share the economic and job creation benefits of this vibrant sector right across the country.

Broadband: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland authorities on the roll-out of superfast and ultrafast broadband in Northern Ireland.

Margot James: Superfast broadband is now available to over 86% of homes and businesses in Northern Ireland. The current publicly-funded superfast broadband roll-out project in Northern Ireland is due to complete this month and will have provided coverage to 41,000 premises. The UK government funding for this project was £7.054 million. Given the scale of the challenge in delivering broadband coverage in Northern Ireland, the UK government allocated a further £150 million for ultrafast broadband in Northern Ireland in the June 2017 funding agreement for Northern Ireland. The government has regular discussions with the Northern Ireland authorities on both the delivery of the current project and proposals for taking forward new funding.

Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport of 1 March 2018, Official Report, column 965, on Leveson Inquiry, for what reason he did not include the number of people who signed petitions in his evaluation of people in favour of reopening the Leveson Inquiry’in that Ministerial Statement.

Matt Hancock: As I said in my statement to the House, petition signatures were not counted as direct responses and this is in line with the approach taken by other government consultations - including those on same-sex marriage and the BBC Charter Review. The number of people who signed each petition is clearly set out in our response to the consultation, and their views have been considered fully as part of the Government's deliberations on these issues.

Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport of 1 March 2018, Official Report, column 965, on the Leveson Inquiry, if he will publish the total proportion of respondents to the government consultation on the Leveson inquiry including (a) directly and (b) people who signed petitions that were in favour of reopening that inquiry.

Matt Hancock: This is set out in the Government's response to the consultation which is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/leveson-consultation-response

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Internet

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the volume of UK citizens’ data held by companies (a) supplying cloud services to his department and (b) contracted to deliver cloud services on behalf of his Department that is subject to information requests from US Government bodies.

Margot James: DCMS does not centrally collect the specific data requested. Information regarding contracts above the value of £10,000 is published on Contracts Finder on GOV.UK, available at https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder. The Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Information Commissioner’s Office also have responsibilities in this area.

Broadband: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of homes are connected to superfast broadband in the West Midlands.

Margot James: According to Thinkbroadband, over 96.42% of premises in the West Midlands now have access to superfast broadband. This is up from 65% in 2010. There are approximately 2.5 million premises in the West Midlands region, of which 2.41 million have access to superfast broadband.

Broadband: Coventry South

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of homes which have been connected to superfast broadband in Coventry South constituency.

Margot James: According to Thinkbroadband, in Coventry South constituency over 91.44% of premises now have access to superfast broadband. This is up from 38% in 2010. Approximately 42,658 premises in Coventry South can now access superfast broadband out of a total of 45,500. From 2020 we are also introducing a broadband Universal Service Obligation so everyone across the UK will have a clear, enforceable right to request high-speed broadband.

Broadband: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of homes which have been connected to superfast broadband in Coventry.

Margot James: According to Thinkbroadband, over 95.7% of premises in Coventry now have access to superfast broadband. Approximately 136,461 premises in Coventry currently have access to superfast broadband.

Sports

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of trends in participation in sports that are funded by UK Sport.

Tracey Crouch: Sport England is the arms length body of government responsible for supporting and investing in participation in grassroot sport. It does not make specific assessments of participation rates of sports on the basis that they receive funding from UK Sport. UK Sport is the arms length body of government responsible for supporting and investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport to maximise UK athlete success, and does not allocate funding on the basis of participation rates. Sport England's Active Lives Survey captures data on physical activity levels in England, together with data on the numbers of people aged 16+ participating in sports. Details of the most recent Active Lives Survey data release covering the period May 2016-May 2017 can be found here: https://www.sportengland.org/media/12458/active-lives-adult-may-16-17-report.pdf. Details of the data tables on participation rates of sports can be found here: http://www.sportengland.org/media/12452/tables-5-9_twice-in-the-last-28-days.xlsx

Sports: Expenditure

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will set out the amount spent by UK Sport per active participant in (a) equestrian events, (b) sailing, (c) shooting  and (d) bobsleigh.

Tracey Crouch: UK Sport investment​ in​to ​​​Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic sports for the current funding ​cycle can be found on UK Sport’s website here: http://www.uksport.gov.uk/our-work/investing-in-sport/current-funding-figures UK Sport do not allocate any funding that is dependent on participation levels. The primary role of UK Sport is to strategically invest National Lottery and Exchequer income to maximise the performance of UK athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the global events which precede them. UK Sport's investments in sports are made on a four year basis, with all investment decisions and levels reviewed annually. UK Sport investment is on an eight-year pathway, enabling athletes who are up to eight years away from the Olympic podium to benefit from world class support to help realise their potential Sport England is the arms length body of government responsible for supporting and investing in participation in grassroot sport. Sport England's Active Lives Survey captures data on physical activity levels in England, together with data on the numbers of people aged 16+ participating in sports. Details of the most recent Active Lives Survey data release covering the period May 2016-May 2017 can be found here: https://www.sportengland.org/media/12458/active-lives-adult-may-16-17-report.pdf. Details of the data tables on participation rates of sports can be found here: http://www.sportengland.org/media/12452/tables-5-9_twice-in-the-last-28-days.xlsx

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Margot James: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), currently has six apprentices and this equates to 0.7% of employees. The department is reviewing its apprenticeship strategy in line with Civil Service ambition of 2.3% apprenticeship starts and aims to meet this commitment by the 2018/19 financial year. Apprenticeships represent an opportunity for DCMS to increase to social mobility, diversity and strengthen our skills base. We aim to do this by taking on Fast Track apprentices, filling appropriate vacancies with apprentices and supporting existing staff to take up apprenticeships to further their own development. We believe the department is making progress and will continue working to increase the number of apprentices.

Young People: Voluntary Work

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Youth Full Time Social Action Review published in January 2018, what steps he is taking to widen participation in youth full-time social action programmes, particularly by people from low income backgrounds.

Tracey Crouch: Government is committed to ensuring that young people can take part in social action projects and programmes regardless of their background. The yearly independent National Youth Social Action Survey reports on the socio-economic gap in participation enabling us to monitor year on year progress and to take action to close this gap. In 2016 the survey identified a participation gap of 9% points between the most affluent and least affluent, down from 20% points in 2014. Government has invested £20 million of seed funding as part of the match funded #iwill fund to provide opportunities to young people to participate in meaningful social action. The #iwill Fund works closely with match funders to identify cold spots and directs funding to engage the hard to reach. The National Citizen Service (NCS) Trust also ensure young people from all backgrounds are able to participate. In summer 2016, 17% of NCS participants were eligible for free school meals compared with around 8% of young people of the same age in the general population. The Government will issue its response to the Review of Full Time Social Action by Young People in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Tidal Power: South West

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the wave and tidal energy sector in the South West.

Claire Perry: In October 2017, the Government confirmed that up to £557 million of annual support would be available for further Contracts for Difference (including projects such as wave and tidal stream) with the next competitive allocation round planned for Spring 2019. In addition, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy also provides grant funding for the wave and tidal stream sector through the BEIS Energy Entrepreneurs’ Fund.The Government is currently assessing the Hendry Review into tidal lagoons and is considering how this technology delivers against its priorities, as set out in the Clean Growth Strategy and the Industrial Strategy. This will ensure that the response to the Hendry Review takes into account the best interests of the UK as a whole and represents value for money for the UK taxpayer and the consumer.

Modern Working Practices Review

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has held with the devolved administrations on the Government's response to the Matthew Taylor review of modern working practices; and what the outcomes of those discussions were.

Andrew Griffiths: During the course of the Review of Modern Working Practices, the panel held events across the UK including in Wales and Northern Ireland. Unfortunately due to the General Election in 2017, the scheduled event for Scotland was cancelled. Officials in the Department speak regularly to their counterparts in the Devolved Administrations and we look forward to engaging with them through the further work set out in the Government response to the Review of Modern Working Practices.

Productivity Leadership Group: Scotland

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on (a) the Productivity Leadership Group and (b) the scope of that group's activities with Scottish businesses.

Mr Sam Gyimah: As part of our ambitious Industrial Strategy, BEIS will provide up to £13m to fund "Be the Business", a charity set up by the Productivity Leadership Group to help firms become more productive. Be the Business is currently in set-up phase. BEIS officials will arrange to meet with their Scottish Government counterparts and Be the Business to discuss how its privately and publicly funded activities can benefit Scottish business, within devolved arrangements.

Fracking

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128441, Fracking: Wells, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the estimate that there could be 155 fracking wells by around 2025 is considered out of date.

Claire Perry: We consider the estimate to be out of date based on progress of the industry to date and the number of sites currently going through planning.

Energy: Private Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) merits and (b) costs of introducing a cap of £5,000 rather than £2,500 on landlord contributions to domestic private rented sector energy efficiency schemes.

Claire Perry: The Department is currently consulting on proposals to introduce a landlord funding contribution element to the domestic Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015. A consultation stage impact assessment of the policy options under consideration was published alongside the consultation paper. The impact assessment sets out the benefits and costs of landlord contributions capped at £1,000, £2,500, £3,500 and £5,000. This includes an assessment of the number of homes meeting the minimum standard under the various cap options, the number of homes receiving measures up to the value of each cap but not reaching the minimum standard, the average cost of the measures per property, the savings on bills achieved by tenants, number of fuel poor households receiving measures, benefits to tenant health and other key factors.Full details of the policy options under considerations and the complete consultation stage impact assessment are available via the gov.uk consultation hub.

Property: Greater London

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many properties there were in (a) London and (b) Hampstead and Kilburn constituency which were registered to owners based overseas in each year since 2016.

Andrew Griffiths: HM Land Registry does not hold definitive information on where registered owners are based. HM Land Registry holds information on titles that are registered to overseas companies, but this does not include properties registered to individuals who are domiciled overseas. The dataset can be accessed through its website at GOV.UK. (a) For London there were 43,925 titles in 2017, and 42,796 titles in 2016, registered to overseas companies with HM Land Registry. (b) For Hampstead & Kilburn there were 1,331 titles in 2017, and 1,208 titles in 2016, registered to overseas companies with HM Land Registry.

Energy: Meters

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the cost of installing smart meters in domestic properties has been to date; and what estimate his Department has made of savings to domestic consumers of that installation.

Claire Perry: A detailed breakdown of the estimated costs of the rollout by year and type is available in the published cost-benefit analysis, which is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meter-roll-out-gb-cost-benefit-analysis. The average household is expected to save £11 a year off their energy bills in 2020, rising to £47 in 2030 (equivalent to £300 million off domestic energy bills in 2020 and £1.2 billion a year by 2030).

Fracking: Employment

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of jobs in the shale gas industry in (a) 2025 and (b) 2030; whether those estimates have changed since estimates for the number of such jobs in those years made in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not made any estimates of the potential effect on employment from the future development of the shale gas industry.

Ceramics: Manufacturing Industries

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to reduce the incidence of ceramic manufacturers experiencing gas price spikes.

Richard Harrington: It is normal and necessary for wholesale gas prices to fluctuate in response to changes in demand. The resulting price signals encourage a flexible supply response, and help ensure that even when the system is stressed, consumer demand is met. This is a sign of a well-functioning commodity market. Consumers in the wholesale market can benefit from price fluctuations, with companies that flexibly increase or decrease their supply of gas maximising their profit by reacting to the price signals.There is already a liquid forward market which allows large consumers to buy gas at a pre-agreed price and minimise their exposure to price spikes. This price is historically very stable.

Wind Power

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase the production of electricity from onshore wind.

Claire Perry: I refer the hon Member to the reply given to question UIN 118634

Energy: Housing

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps is his Department taking to promote energy efficiency in households.

Claire Perry: The Government’s Clean Growth Strategy, published in October last year, set out a number of policies and proposals to promote energy efficiency in households. For example:The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) places an obligation on energy suppliers to deliver household energy efficiency measures such as cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. Under ECO around 2.2 million energy efficiency measures had been installed in around 1.8 million properties by the end of December 2017Government implements minimum energy efficiency standards for many energy using products including lighting, white goods, and boilers. We estimate that these standards, along with product energy labelling, will save around £100 a year on energy bills for the average dual-fuel household in 2020.For privately rented homes, new legislation in force from April 2018 means that landlords of the least energy-efficient properties will need to improve those properties to a minimum of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band E before they can be let, lowering bills for some of the most vulnerable private tenants while ensuring costs of improvements are reasonable and affordable. The Government is consulting on steps to make these regulations more effective.Alongside the Clean Growth Strategy, the Government published a Call for Evidence on building a market for energy efficiency, which includes additional measures to reduce the cost of investment required to improve homes. This Call for Evidence has now closed and we will publish an action plan on additional market-based measures later in 2018.The Government is replacing the existing, telephone-only Energy Saving Advice Service with a digitally-led service, which will be launched in spring 2018. This will offer tailored advice to consumers on improving the energy performance of their homes.

Natural Gas: Shortages

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to prevent gas shortages.

Claire Perry: Great Britain benefits from highly diverse and flexible sources of gas supply, including domestic production, pipelines from Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands, and liquefied natural gas terminals which can bring in gas from anywhere in the world. Gas security in the UK is provided by ensuring that these diverse sources have volumes available sufficiently in excess of peak demand to cope with shocks, and system flexibility to respond quickly to those shocks. Analysis shows GB supplies can meet gas demand even under severe weather conditions for an extended period of time.

Natural Gas

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to decrease the level of energy dependence on gas.

Claire Perry: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Minimum Wage: Arrears

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to Question 127413 on Minimum Wage: Arrears, how many of the 169 employers instructed to self-correct further arrears in naming rounds 10 to 13 self-corrected a sum of arrears greater than the sum of arrears for which they were named and shamed.

Andrew Griffiths: Of the 169 employers instructed to self-correct further arrears in naming rounds 10 to 13, 96 employers identified a sum of self-corrected arrears greater than the sum of arrears for which they were named. As part of a formal HMRC investigation where arrears have been identified, enforcement officers have the ability to instruct an employer to conduct a self-review across the remainder of their payroll. An employer will be required to correct any further underpayments found; and the review is assured by HMRC officers before being finalised. Self-correction is used to maximise the impact of enforcement activity, and frees up HMRC officers to start work on additional investigations.

Small Business Research Initiative

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy how much funding from the public purse was allocated though the Small Business Research Initiative programme by each Government Department in 2016-17.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The value of Small Business Research Initiative contracts in 2016/17 as reported to Innovate UK by Departments is set out below: Department/Public BodyTotal Contract Value (£k)Department for Business Innovation and Skills£649Department of Health£20,579NHS England£13,437Home Office£4,777MoD£13,996NC3Rs (National Centre for Replacement and Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research)£2,294Department for Culture Media and Sport£450Department for Education£125Department for International Development£497UK Space Agency£737Innovate UK£2,028Devolved Administrations£14,811Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) projects£4,641Total£79,021Source: Innovate UK Management Data

Energy: Meters

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the smart meter roll-out plans submitted by energy companies to OFGEM to meet the 2020 deadline.

Claire Perry: Energy suppliers are responsible for planning and delivering the roll-out of smart meters, working within the regulatory framework established by the Government. Energy suppliers’ licence conditions require them to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to roll-out smart meters to all their domestic and small business customers by 31 December 2020. Ofgem is responsible for regulating energy suppliers against this obligation and assessing the adequacy of smart meter roll-out plans submitted to them by energy suppliers.

Energy: Meters

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of energy smart meters which are operating in dumb mode.

Claire Perry: It is estimated there are currently around 400,000 meters being operated by large suppliers in ‘traditional’ mode.There were more than 8.6 million smart and advanced meters operating in Great Britain, in ‘smart mode’, as of 30 September 2017.The Data and Communications Company (DCC) will move SMETS1 meters into its national system, starting later this year, so that all consumers can keep their smart services when they switch energy supplier, regardless of which generation of meter they have installed.

Regional Growth Fund: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much Regional Growth Fund money has been allocated to the West Midlands.

Andrew Griffiths: The Regional Growth Fund was established to support job creation and economic growth. The West Midlands has been allocated £430 million of RGF funding.

Easter

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to bring into force the provisions of the Easter Act 1928 to fix the date of Easter from 2019 onwards.

Andrew Griffiths: At present, Easter occurs on the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon following the spring equinox. The Easter Act 1928, which remains on the Statute Book, would set the date for Easter to fall on the Sunday that follows the second Saturday in April (i.e. between 9 and 15 April). The Act has not been brought into force. To so would require an Order in Council, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The Act also requires that, before the Order is made, “regard shall be had to any opinion officially expressed by any Church or other Christian Body." I understand that the Archbishop of Canterbury has indicated that he is working with other Christian churches to agree on a fixed date for Easter. If the Christian churches were to agree on moving to a fixed date for Easter then the Government would consider, depending on what date is agreed, whether to bring into force the Easter Act 1928 or to make such other legislative provision as may be needed. However, there is no indication yet whether or when a date will be agreed or what that date would be.

Employment: Weather

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to issue guidance to employers on pay for employees who were unable to travel to work as a result of red weather warnings.

Andrew Griffiths: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to Question UIN 130992.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Apprentices

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the proportion of staff currently employed by his Department who are apprentices.

Richard Harrington: The proportion of staff currently employed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who are apprentices is 1.6%.

Employment: Weather

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will issue guidance to employers on payroll deductions for employees who were unable to travel to work by public transport during the recent winter storms; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Griffiths: Employers should look kindly on workers who followed official guidance not to travel and treat them in good faith. I would encourage employers to come to a reasonable solution on pay that is fair to employees and right for their business.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Scotland

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff his Department has in Scotland; where those staff are located; and what the roles of those staff are.

Richard Harrington: The latest BEIS location data (June 2017) states that BEIS aligned with Partner Organisations has 838 staff based in Scotland of which 87 are core BEIS staff.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will place a copy of Fire Research Station Report CR143/94, entitled Investigation of the behaviour of external cladding systems in fire: Report on 10 full-scale fire tests, in the Library.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 23 February 2018



This report was prepared by the Fire Research Station, part of the Building Research Establishment, in 1994. The Department is in contact with the Building Research Establishment to obtain a copy of the report.

First Time Buyers

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department produces on purchasing housing for the benefit of first time buyers.

Dominic Raab: The Government is determined to help more young people into home ownership. We have created the website https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk which has details of various Government supported housing schemes. This is designed to help prospective home owners find a scheme which is most appropriate to their circumstances.

Building Regulations: Disability

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants are working on the Government response to the ninth report of Session 2016-17 of the Women and Equalities Committee, Building for Equality: disability and the built environment, HC 631, published on 25 April 2017.

Dominic Raab: The Department does not have records of the total number of civil servants who will have contributed at some point to preparing the response.

Housing Estates: Regeneration

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, how much funding remains allocated to estate regeneration in each financial year from 2018-19.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effect on local regeneration programmes of surrendering £52m for estate regeneration in 2017-18.

Dominic Raab: The Government remains committed to estate regeneration and reaffirmed this commitment by announcing an additional £400 million at Autumn Budget.Below is a table that outlines the funding (net budget) allocated to the Estate Regeneration Programme from 2018/19 onwards. This is comprised of the remaining balance of previously allocated funding plus £400 million made available to the Department as part of the Autumn Budget settlement.Estate Regeneration ProgrammeCapital (Financial Transactions) Net Budget£'0002018/192019/202020/212021/222022/23TotalLoans93,70095,800109,400100,000498,900498,900

First Time Buyers

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, how much funding remains allocated to starter homes in each financial  year from 2018-19.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effect on building of new starter homes of surrendering £329m for starter homes in 2017-18.

Dominic Raab: Surrendered and reallocated funding are as set out in my Department’s 2017/18 supplementary estimates. This compares with underspends including £122 million for “Building prosperous communities, promoting regeneration and tackling deprivation” and £144 million for “Improving the supply and quality of housing” in 2009/10 when the Rt Hon Member had responsibility for housing.There remains funding for the Starter Home Land Fund which we are reviewing following the announcement of a new £1.1 billion land assembly fund in the Autumn Budget. This change in the starter homes budget will reduce the number of starter homes expected to be delivered through funding compared to the original estimates. But, as the Housing White Paper made clear, the Government’s aim is to ensure young people have a range of housing products they can choose from to support their aspiration into homeownership, including Help to Buy, shared ownership and rent to buy, as well as discount market sales like starter homes. The additional funding for the affordable housing programme is expected to deliver at least 25,000 additional affordable homes, including homes at a social rent.

Private Rented Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, how much funding remains allocated to build-to-rent in each financial year from 2018-19.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effect on affordable housing of surrendering £52m for build to rent in 2017-18.

Dominic Raab: The Build to Rent Fund was closed to new applications in 2016. At the 2017/18 Supplementary Estimate, the following budget profile was agreed in order to provide for loans to be drawn down under existing loan agreements under the Fund:Year2018-192019-202020-21Grand TotalGross budget150,00000150,000Prospective developers of housing built for rent may also apply to my Department for support under the Home Building Fund, which became operational in 2016.In addition, our private rented sector housing debt guarantee scheme has approved approximately £1.5 billion of transactions. Government funding and guarantees are just one source of investment for the Build to Rent sector. Knight Frank, a real estate consultancy firm, estimated that £25 billion had been invested in the sector in total (UK figure) as of 2017.The Build to Rent Fund is a loan fund made available in order to support and encourage investment in the build-to-rent housing sector. The fund received more financial transaction income in 17/18 than expected. In line with good financial management of public funds, this allowed the Department to return £52 million of funding back to HMT. The surrender has no impact on the delivery of affordable housing.

Affordable Housing: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, how much funding remains allocated to affordable housing in each financial year from 2018-19.

Dominic Raab: The Government remains committed to building more affordable housing. Last October we announced an additional £2 billion funding for affordable housing, increasing the Affordable Homes Programme budget to over £9 billion between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2017 to Question 127316 on High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention, what the Government's definition is of limited combustibility.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 05 March 2018



Materials of limited combustibility are defined, for the purposes of Approved Document B, in Table A7 of Approved Document B. The criteria varies depending on the nature of the material and its use.The approved document is available on the Gov.uk website atwww.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-approved-document-b

Affordable Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effect on the building of affordable housing of surrendering £48m for affordable housing (National Productivity Investment Fund) in 2017-18.

Dominic Raab: We will continue to invest over £9 billion into building more affordable homes, including an additional £2 billion targeted at social rent. Housing developments take time to move forward.By comparison, in 2009/10 the then Minister for Housing allowed an underspend of £144 million for housing and a potential £122 million on regeneration.

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effect on housebuilding of surrendering £166m for accelerated construction (National Productivity Investment Fund) in 2017-18.

Dominic Raab: There will overall be no impact on the programme.We are finalising the details of the new refocused Accelerated Construction programme to ensure that it will deliver additional houses whilst also freeing up cash to maximise support for our wider housing priorities including investing £9 billion into building more affordable homes and an additional £2 billion targeted at social rent. Housing developments take time to move forward.By comparison, in 2009/10 the then Minister for Housing allowed an underspend of £144 million for housing and a potential £122 million on regeneration.

Regeneration: Greater London

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum to its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effect on the regeneration of the local area of surrendering £6m for Brent Cross in 2017-18.

Dominic Raab: To enable us to provide funding for the Brent Cross project earlier, £6 million from departmental underspend was awarded as grant to the London Borough of Barnet in 2016/17. £6 million of the 2017/18 allocation from the HMT was therefore surrendered. Overall, this had no effect on the funding for the scheme. The Government is unchanged on its support of the regeneration programme and is committed to the £97 million total grant.

Affordable Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's explanatory memorandum on its Supplementary Estimate 2017-18, what assessment he has made of the effect  the building of affordable housing of surrendering £24m for the Affordable Homes Programme in 2017-18.

Dominic Raab: We will continue to invest over £9 billion into building more affordable homes, including an additional £2 billion. By comparison, in 2009/10 the then Minister for Housing allowed an underspend of £144 million for housing and a potential £122 million on regeneration.

Green Belt: Telford and Wrekin

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect green belt and green open spaces in the Telford and Wrekin local authority area.

Dominic Raab: This Government has a clear manifesto commitment to maintain strong protections for Green Belt. This will be carried forward in the revision of the National Planning Policy Framework that we are publishing for consultation. We will review the draft Framework in the light of the consultation responses we receive, before issuing the new Framework later in the year.At the same time we are considering what supporting guidance will be necessary. We are not proposing any alteration to national policy on Local Green Spaces. These are green areas demonstrably special to a nearby community and significant locally for their beauty, historic significance, recreational value, tranquillity or wildlife. Local communities will continue to be able to designate these spaces in Local Plans to rule out inappropriate development there other than in very special circumstances.

Local Government Finance: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many councils have (a) requested and (b) received funding help for urgent fire safety work following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 05 March 2018



41 local authorities have contacted MHCLG regarding work to ensure fire safety in tower blocks which they own. 13 of these authorities had identified buildings which required essential works and we have asked them to provide more detailed information. So far, four authorities have provided this information and officials are working with them on their requests.Local authorities will need to fund the costs of fire safety work in their own buildings. However, there may be circumstances where Government would consider the removal of financial restrictions to enable works to go ahead.If a local authority building owner considers any of their buildings to be unsafe, they will need to determine what measures are essential to make each building fire safe. This will need to be done as part of a whole fire safety strategy for each individual building, taking into account expert advice, any directions or advice from the local fire and rescue service, and other fire safety measures present.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Business Interests

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which members of his Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for former Ministers and senior civil servants.

Jake Berry: Applications under business appointment rules from former Ministers are considered by the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.Applications from Minstry of Housing, Communities and Local Government officials at Director General level are handled in line with the business appointment rules and are determined by the Prime Minister. Applications from senior civil service officials below director general level are overseen by the Permanent Secretary and HR Director, both of whom serve on the Department’s Board.The Department’s Audit and Risk Committee, chaired by the Department’s Lead Non-Executive Director, will monitor departmental compliance with the Business Appointment Rules at regular intervals.

Housing: Travellers

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2018 to Question 127503, if he will take additional steps to promote to local authorities the availability of funding for Traveller pitches.

Dominic Raab: I would reiterate my answer to Question UIN 127503 on 22 February - the Department has already published an addendum to the Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21 prospectus and supplementary information, which publicly set out that funding is now available for new build traveller pitches within the Programme.I would take this opportunity to invite local authorities and housing associations to submit their bids for funding for new traveller pitches. The addendum to the prospectus and supplementary information are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/shared-ownership-and-affordable-homes-programme-2016-to-2021-guidance

Housing Benefit: Refuges

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received on changes to payments of housing benefit to women's refuges.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We are considering feedback received through the short-term consultation which closed on 23 January. We are also continuing to engage with the sector, including women’s refuges, on the detail of the funding model.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of using desktop studies to assess the flammability of cladding on buildings.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 05 March 2018



The Interim report of Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety made the following recommendation;"The government should significantly restrict the use of desktop studies to approve changes to cladding and other systems to ensure that they are only used where appropriate and with sufficient, relevant test evidence. Those undertaking desktop studies must be able to demonstrate suitable competence. The industry should ensure that their use of desktop studies is responsible and in line with this aim."The government has accepted this recommendation and will be consulting shortly on proposed changes to building regulations guidance.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2018 to Question 128437, on High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention, for what reasons that Answer does not indicate whether (a) class 0 (national class) and (b) class B-s3, d2 must be composed only of materials that are of limited combustibility.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 05 March 2018



Approved Document B uses a series of national and European classifications in describing the reaction of construction products to fire (see table below and explanation in Appendix A of Approved Document B). As the table shows, Class 0 and Class B-s3, d2 materials would not meet the definition of ‘material of limited combustibility’ (defined, for the purposes of Approved Document B, in Table A7 of Approved Document B) because these are different, less onerous classifications. Class 0 and Class B-s3, d2 materials would therefore not necessarily meet the requirements in paragraph 12.7 of Approved Document B for insulation products, filler materials etc to be of limited combustibility for buildings over 18 metres. National EuropeanNon Combustible Class A1Material of Limited Combustibility Class A2Class 0 Class BClass 1 Class CClass 2 Class DClass 3 Class EClass 4 Class F

Housing: Construction

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the implications for the planning applications he has called in relating to sites in Hatfield Peverel, Essex of the assessment in the Five Year Housing supply statement as of 31 December 2017 published by Braintree District Council that the Council has exceeded the five year supply of deliverable sites under the Liverpool methodology.

Dominic Raab: I am afraid I am unable to make such an assessment. This is because the Inspector is currently preparing his reports following the inquiry that took place in December, and these are due for submission to the Secretary of State by 26 March. Anything I were to say on this matter could prejudice the Secretary of State’s decisions in due course.

Right to Buy Scheme: Fraud

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2018 to Question 120663, on Right to Buy Scheme: Fraud, how many individual investigations the Department has launched into fraud associated with right to buy purchases.

Dominic Raab: Fraud investigations into Right to Buy applications are undertaken by social landlords. The Government encourages and supports social landlords to investigate all applications that they think are fraudulent.

Public Lavatories: Disability

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government is providing support to local authorities to ensure that all public places can offer fully accessible facilities in accordance with the requests from the Changing Places campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab: The Government is keen to promote the provision of Changing Places toilet facilities and has supported the development of a web based map to enable people to find their nearest Changing Places toilet. Existing guidance on the Building Regulations’ requirements on access encourages the provision of Changing Places facilities in new non domestic buildings and we are keeping that guidance under review.

Housing: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2017 to Question 127211 on Housing: Insulation, which industry experts his Department is working with to clarify the approved documents on fire safety.

Dominic Raab: The expert group includes members of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) and seconded experts. All experts on the group are invited as individuals, not representatives of an organisation, and it is not normal practice to publish their names. The names of members of BRAC are however listed at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/building-regulations-advisory-committee/about/membership.

Owner Occupation

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the levels of home ownership have been in England in each year since 2010.

Dominic Raab: Data on home ownership rates can be found on the department's website. See AT 1.1 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/676433/2016-17_Section_1_Households_Annex_Tables.xlsx

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Jake Berry: The number of apprentices employed by this Department was 37 as of 28 February 2018. This equates to 2.2 per cent of the Department's directly employed headcount for the same date.

Property Development: Floods

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homes have been built on flood plains since January 2017.

Dominic Raab: Nine per cent of new residential addresses in England were created within areas of high flood risk during 2015-16.Source: Land Use Change 2015-16:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/land-use-change-statistics-2015-to-2016.

Council Housing: Fire Prevention

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the provision of additional funds to local authorities to improve the fire safety of their housing stock in the 2018-19 financial year.

Dominic Raab: The Government has been clear that local authorities, as the responsible body, will need to fund the costs of fire safety work in their own buildings. However, Government will consider financial flexibilities for local authorities to enable essential works to go ahead. This would not include general improvements or enhancements to buildings which go beyond works needed to make a building safe.If a local authority building owner considers any of their buildings to be unsafe, they will need to determine what measures are essential to make each building fire safe. This will need to be done as part of a whole fire safety strategy for each individual building, taking into account expert advice, any directions or advice from local fire and rescue service, and other fire safety measures present.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training members of the armed forces receive in respect of the initiative on the prevention of sexual violence in conflict.

Mark Lancaster: All members of the Armed Forces receive training on international humanitarian law which includes law relating to sexual violence in conflict as part of their pre-deployment training. Additionally, the Armed Forces have over 40 gender advisers who are trained to advise on appropriate responses to sexual violence in conflict.

Ministry of Defence: Stirling

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions have taken place between his Department and Stirling Council on the future use of his Department's Forthside estate in Stirling.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: An initial meeting was held between Ministry of Defence representatives and Stirling Council officials on 8 June 2010. Subsequent meetings have taken place during 2011-12, in April 2016 and more recently in January 2017.

Defence Animal Centre: Dogs

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many dogs from the Defence Animal Centre have been re-homed in each of the last three years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to Question 117720 on 26 February 2018.



Armed Forces: Dogs
(Word Document, 24.4 KB)

Ministry Of Defence: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As of 6 March 2018, 836 Ministry of Defence civilian personnel are employed on an apprenticeship scheme. This represents 1.8% of the total civilian personnel workforce.In addition, there are around 20,000 Armed Forces personnel undertaking apprenticeships at any one time, around 14% of the Armed Forces.

HM Treasury

Inheritance Tax: Tax Allowances

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received relief from Inheritance Tax for deaths on active service in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Mel Stride: The number of estates that claimed the inheritance tax exemption for death on active service cannot be provided. Due to the low incidence of claims for this relief, releasing the information could lead to the identification of individual taxpayers.

Safety Belts: VAT

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received a reduced rate of VAT on children’s car seats in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received a reduced rate of VAT on contraceptive products in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received a reduced rate of VAT on smoking cessation products in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received a reduced rate of VAT on women’s sanitary products in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received a zero rate of VAT on cycle helmets in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Mel Stride: The details that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collects from taxpayers on their VAT returns are not specific enough to provide the number of people benefiting from this relief. HMRC does not require this level of detail because it would place a considerable administrative burden on businesses.

Financial Services: Mental Illness

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that financial lenders provide appropriate support to customers experiencing mental health difficulties.

John Glen: The government is committed to building an economy that works for everyone, including those experiencing mental health difficulties. The Regulation of consumer credit is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers. It requires all lenders to treat customers fairly, and to establish appropriate policies for dealing with vulnerable customers, including those with mental health difficulties. We have passed the honourable lady’s question on to the FCA, who will reply directly to her by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Church Commissioners

Churches: Jerusalem

Eddie Hughes: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church of England has had with the leaders of other Christian Churches on the closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has reopened following three days of closure which left pilgrims and visitors praying in the square outside. The dispute was over a new tax policy and proposed land expropriation law.Officials from Church House and staff at Lambeth Palace were in regular contact with the Heads of Churches Group in the City of Jerusalem through Archbishop Suheil the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem as the events unfolded. On the 5th of March, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster wrote a joint letter to the Israeli Ambassador in the UK, to say that both Churches believed “the measures being pressed in Jerusalem and in the Knesset, were a clear and evident threat to the status quo and that this risked undermining prospects for peaceful coexistence between communities, at a time of already heightened tensions.” Specifically, that, “the new policy would cause serious damage to the Christian presence in Jerusalem, to Christian families, and to the Christian institutions, including hospitals and schools, which serve many of the poorest people, regardless of their background.”The Church of England and the Roman Catholic Bishops Conference in England and Wales will continue to work closely together on issues relating to Israel and Palestine. Bishops from around the world make an annual joint visit to the Holy Land as part of the Holy Land Coordination Group. The Bishop of Southwark along with the Catholic Bishops will be hosting a meeting for all Members on the 15th May, 3-4pm in Committee Room 2A to discuss and feedback the findings of their visit.

*No heading*

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps are being taken to roll out financial education in Church of England schools.

Dame Caroline Spelman: In a recent submission to the Department for Education consultation on the future of PSHE education the Just Finance Foundation set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury reported that 40% of UK adults have less than £100 in savings and struggled to manage money. The impact of potential lifelong indebtedness makes financial capability an issue of pressing importance for younger generations. The Church of England approached this through the foundation of an education programme called LifeSavers.LifeSavers was designed to practically demonstrate­ how schools can weave financial education throughout the teaching and life of the school in a way that is sustainable. Funding has currently has enabled the scheme to operate in 70 schools with a further 50 next year. Half of the number of LifeSavers schools operate in Church of England schools and more than 15,600­­­ pupils have already taken part in LifeSavers, and over 1,200 teachers have been trained through its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme. ­The results seen by the Just Finance Foundation to their projects has led them to press the Department for Education to put financial education on an equal footing within the PSHE curriculum.

Churches: Bureaucracy

Richard Graham: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to reduce the level of administrative paperwork for church communities.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church of England keeps the administrative burden on its clergy constantly under review. There is a current programme of work in process to simplify many aspects of its work. The simplification programme has already cut a great deal paperwork and moved much of its administration online. For example, applications for permission to make changes to church buildings under the Faculty process are now much easier and quicker. 30 of our 40 dioceses are now using the bespoke online application and file management system, which not only reduces the use of paper but also pre-completed forms, remembers past applications so text can be re-used, and stores key documents securely.The Registration of Marriage Bills currently in front of both Houses also attempt to simplify the registration process for marriage by digitising aspects of the administration.The Church of England has also developed a new Digital Communications team which supports the national, diocesan and parish level to improve communications through websites, social media and other digital channels.Specifically, within the Diocese of Gloucester there is an imaginative vision in place which has four key themes around leadership, imagination, faith and engagement (LIFE). Liberating people for life-giving community engagement means looking at governance and administration in new ways.

Churches: Infrastructure

Robert Halfon: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what funding is available for church infrastructure projects.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church Commissioners provide financial and administrative support to cathedrals and dioceses. It is up to each self-governing church or cathedral to raise funds for development projects, and the National Church Institutions provide advice and support.The changing priorities and declining budget of the Heritage Lottery Fund is a matter of concern, as this is where much fundraising money comes from; officers at national level continue to work with the Heritage Lottery Fund on the specific issues churches face. The HLF is currently reviewing its strategic priorities and I would encourage all Hon. members to consider sending in a response, making the importance of churches as community assets clear.The Church of England has been in discussions with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and HM Treasury about the current underspend of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, realocating the underspend would enable the Church to deliver a number of the recommendations in the Taylor Review.

Department for International Trade

China: Trade Missions

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many Scottish based small and medium sized enterprises were invited to take part in the Prime Minister's trade visit to China in January 2018.

Graham Stuart: The Department of International Trade worked alongside colleagues from across the UK and its devolved administrations to identify companies to join the Prime Minister’s business delegation. This process included wide consultation with our counterpart, Scottish Development International. Each of the nine English regions and the three devolved administrations were represented in the 50-strong delegation, including two Scottish based small and medium-sized enterprises – the Scotch Whisky Association and NPL Group. One large Scottish company, Standard Life Aberdeen, was also represented on the delegation. In total, three small and medium-sized companies and two large Scottish companies were invited to participate in the visit.

Small Businesses: Shropshire

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many businesses in (a) Shropshire and (b) the Telford constituency have received export support from his Department since it was set up.

Graham Stuart: The Department does not hold the information requested broken down by constituency level.HMRC estimates that around 1,660 registered businesses are exporters of goods in the Marches growth hub area, including Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Herefordshire. DIT support is available to these businesses and is delivered through our West Midlands team of International Trade Advisers and overseas Posts. (Source: HMRC 2015 Growth Hub Data on Exporters of Goods)New more detailed estimates for the number of registered businesses exporting in Shropshire and, Telford and Wrekin will be released by HMRC 28 March 2018.

Department for International Trade: Business Interests

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which members of his Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for former Ministers and senior civil servants.

Greg Hands: Applications by former Ministers are considered by the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments directly.For applications from former Senior Civil Servants, the Department for International Trade Audit and Risk Committee, which is chaired by a Departmental Non-Executive Director, will monitor compliance issues relating to the Business Appointment Rules at regular intervals. For UK Export Finance this function is carried out by the UKEF Audit Committee, chaired by a Non-Executive Board Director.

Honduras: Electronic Surveillance

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: to ask the Secretary of State for Intentional Trade, with reference to the statement from the Honduran office in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemning the use of force of force by the Honduras Government against protesters, if he will suspend the license for the unsent order of surveillance equipment to Honduras.

Graham Stuart: The goods on this licence were presented to UK Customs for export on 22 February 2018. This licence is now exhausted.United Nations reports are considered as part of the application process. The issue of the licence was consistent with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria and remained so at the time of export.

Department For International Trade: Apprentices

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Greg Hands: The number of apprentices in the Department for International Trade (DIT), has been increasing since it was formed in July 2016. DIT currently employs 39 apprentices, which equates to 2.2% of current UK employees. The Secretary of State recently celebrated National Apprenticeship Week, with the Department's apprentices, where they shared their experiences of working in Government.

Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost is of the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme to date; and how many people have used that scheme.

Jesse Norman: The total cost is of the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme to date is £28.7 million and our records show that the scheme has helped people install just under 46,700 home chargers.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide Members of Parliament with a direct line to contact the Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

Jesse Norman: The Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency provides a dedicated telephone line to Members of Parliament and is always happy to discuss issues with them directly.

British Transport Police

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has issued to the British Transport Police on the timescales for responding to correspondence from Members of Parliament.

Joseph Johnson: The Department does not issue guidance to the British Transport Police (BTP) on the timescales for responding to correspondence from Members of Parliament. However, the Department understands that the BTP aims to acknowledge receipt of correspondence from MPs, that are received in the Chief Constable’s office, within 2 days and to provide a formal response within 2 weeks of receipt. I understand that this deadline was not met in relation to a recent piece of correspondence from the Hon Member. I am assured by the BTP that this oversight was exceptional and that steps have been put in place to ensure the correspondence from all Members of Parliament will be dealt with promptly.

Road Traffic Control

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the evidence base for traffic-calming measures introduced recently in (a) Derbyshire and (b) the rest of the UK.

Jesse Norman: Installation of traffic calming measures is the responsibility of the relevant local highway authority. Traffic calming provides a proven and effective way of saving lives and reducing casualties. Its primary purpose is to reduce vehicle speeds in areas where inappropriate speed is a problem. It plays an important role in improving road safety, and each 1 mph reduction in vehicle speed resulting from traffic calming has been found to reduce accidents by around 5%. Traffic calming has been the subject of extensive research. The Department publishes advice for local authorities on designing and installing traffic calming, in Local Transport Note 1/07: Traffic Calming, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-calming-ltn-107. This brings together a summary of the research commissioned by the Department and its predecessors, together with some research from external sources, to provide advice on the use of traffic calming measures today.

Emergency Services: Snow and Ice

Eddie Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's policy is on the mandatory use of (a) snow tyres and (b) snow chains by the emergency services in severe winter weather.

Jesse Norman: The emergency services are to be commended for doing an excellent job in such difficult conditions. The Department does not have a policy on the use of winter tyres and snow chains. The decision on whether to fit them relates to local winter driving conditions, which will vary from region to region and different times. The emergency services are best placed to make a judgement on whether the use of these tyres and chains can enhance the safety of their staff and the effectiveness of the work they do. Snow chains are an option that is available for use in particularly challenging road conditions and while the emergency services may choose to make them available, it may fall to the driver to choose when to use them.

Public Transport: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the level of accessibility by public transport of hospitals in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Bus Services Act 2017 will enable local authorities to take steps to improve service and grow passenger numbers. This could include introducing multi operator tickets, improved vehicle standards and better connections between transport modes, employment and housing. In terms of access to hospitals via public transport, the most recent statistics show that around 94% of the population of England can reach a large hospital within an hour by public transport or walking in urban areas. In rural areas this falls to around 59% of the population. More generally the Government is committed to making the transport system, in urban and rural areas, accessible to all users irrespective of the reason for or destination of the journey. The draft Accessibility Action Plan, published for consultation last year, set out a number of steps we will be taking across transport modes.

Railways: North West

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to make an assessment of the effect on passenger services of Arriva Rail North closing the Southport, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport line.

Joseph Johnson: It is for the operator to provide such an assessment and they did so in September 2016. As a result Arriva Rail North have agreed two morning peak services will go to Piccadilly, and 2 back in the evening. We continue to work with Northern and the user group to look at ways of further improvement for future timetables.

Department for Transport: Apprentices

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department (including Central Department and Executive Agencies) currently employs 230 apprentices which equates to 1.58% of the workforce. This is based on apprenticeship data and Departmental headcount at end of February 2018. These figures are subject to constant change due to workforce movement and apprenticeship completion. The Department has a number of apprenticeship starts in progress which will increase the numbers of apprentices once they have been signed up by learning providers, but they are not yet registered as apprentices.

Bus Services

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in he will meet with the Minister for Loneliness to discuss the role of reliable and timely bus services in helping to alleviate social isolation.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: As part of the Prime Minister’s commitment to deliver a national strategy on loneliness, a Ministerial group has been established, chaired by Tracey Crouch. As the lead Minister on the role of transport in tackling loneliness, I represent the Department on this group.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sudan: Asylum

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has received reports that Sudanese nationals returning from Belgium to Sudan were (a) detained, (b) interrogated and (c) tortured in Sudan.

Harriett Baldwin: ​The UK is aware of reports alleging the detention and mistreatment of Sudanese nationals returning to Sudan from Belgium. In December 2017, shortly following these reports, the Belgian Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons launched an inquiry regarding the risk in cases of return to Sudan. This inquiry has now completed its investigation, but has not been able conclusively to verify whether or not the allegations were accurate. It is vital that all individuals returning to Sudan are treated in accordance with international standards.

Asa Hutchinson

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2018 to Question 129007 on Asa Hutchinson, if he will publish the ministerial-level meetings where the case has been discussed; and whether the case was raised at the bi-annual UK-UAE Taskforce meeting of 28 February 2018.

Alistair Burt: Consular matters were discussed during the recent high level bilateral talks with the UAE.

Cyprus: Territorial Waters

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the naval security situation in the territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus.

Sir Alan Duncan: Holding answer received on 06 March 2018



We are aware that Italian oil company ENI has been prevented from carrying out licensed drilling in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) following Navtex issued by Turkey warning of naval exercises in the same area. We support the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereign right to exploit natural resources in its EEZ, and want to see exploration go ahead. We believe Cyprus’ hydrocarbons should be developed for the benefit of all Cypriots, and urge all parties to look for ways by which the development of hydrocarbons can support the search for a settlement.

Cyprus: Territorial Waters

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Turkey regarding Turkish Navy ships operating in proximity to the territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus.

Sir Alan Duncan: Holding answer received on 06 March 2018



The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has raised recent developments in Cyprus's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with Turkey. We support the Republic of Cyprus' sovereign right to exploit natural resources in its EEZ, and want to see exploration go ahead. We believe Cyprus' hydrocarbons should be developed for the benefit of all Cypriots, and urge all parties to look for ways by which the development of hydrocarbons can support the search for a settlement.

France: Foreign Relations

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 February 2018, Official Report, column 5, what the criteria is for the appointment of the membership of the comité des sages.

Sir Alan Duncan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 March to PQ 130582.

Iran: Females

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his counterpart in the Iranian Government on the ban on women attending football matches; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: ​Women continue to face discrimination in Iran, whether that is unequal access to the labour market, being forced to wear mandatory hijab in public or being prevented from attending sporting events. We urge the Iranian government to repeal discriminatory laws and enable women and girls to participate equally and contribute fully to society.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Apprentices

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Sir Alan Duncan: As of 31 January 2018, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employed 73 apprentices, of whom 35 work for our Trading Fund, FCO Services. This is 1.35% of the total of FCO and FCO Services UK based staff worldwide, and 2% of our staff working in the UK. We plan to increase the number of apprentices in 2018.

Swaziland: Politics and Government

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether officials at the British High Commission in Pretoria meet regularly with (a) the Swaziland United Democratic Front and (b) the People's United Democratic Movement in Swaziland or in South Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: ​​Officials at our High Commission in Pretoria regularly meet with civil society representatives from Swaziland. These representatives are affiliated to a number of different organisations, including the People's United Democratic Movement in Swaziland and the Swaziland Democratic Party. These meetings have historically taken place more regularly in Swaziland than in South Africa. The next such opportunity to engage will be in late March when the Article 8 EU Political Dialogue with Swaziland takes place in Mbabane.

Swaziland: Politics and Government

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department meets regularly with (a) Action for Southern Africa, (b) the Swaziland Human Rights Network UK and (c) other civil society groups in the UK to discuss human rights and democracy in Swaziland; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: ​Officials in Africa Directorate regularly meet with civil society groups on a range of issues and are open to meeting with Action for Southern Africa, Swaziland Human Rights Network UK or other groups to discuss human rights and democracy in Swaziland.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether political rights and democracy are planned to be a priority agenda item for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We are engaging with the Commonwealth Secretariat and other member states to agree the agenda for the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. We anticipate a range of discussions during the week, which reflect the shared values of the Commonwealth, including on political rights and democracy as enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.

Borders: Northern Ireland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to publish in full his letter to the Prime Minister on the border in the island of Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government does not publish internal correspondence. The Prime Minister's latest speech on EU exit, at Mansion House on 2 March 2018, made clear the Government's commitment to no hard border in Ireland and to retaining the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK.

Sanctions

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what methodologies in addition to the UN Inter-agency Standing Committee’s Sanctions Assessment Handbook his Department uses to assess the humanitarian effects of sanctions.

Sir Alan Duncan: When considering the application of sanctions, the Government considers their humanitarian effects, both on the individuals and entities subject to sanctions, as well as on the general population if sanctions are broader. The Government follows a Smarter Sanctions policy which seeks to focus sanctions on those whose behaviour we are trying to change and reduce the risk of unintended consequences.There are a range of tools and guidance available and we take a case-by-case approach to assessing the humanitarian effects of sanctions for each regime. UN sanctions regimes have panels of experts that produce reports covering the unintended consequences of sanctions regimes, including humanitarian impacts, amongst other things. At the EU, the humanitarian impact is also taken into account when sanctions are considered. We also work to ensure the design of each sanctions regulation takes into account of what exceptions or special licensing arrangements are appropriate for the type of sanctions regime, in line with the UK's foreign policy goals. We work closely with Government staff in country to ensure that humanitarian effects are minimised.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Hearing Impairment

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to deafness programmes in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much his Department has allocated to deafness programmes in each country for which aid was provided in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, people with disabilities, including deaf people, benefit from many DFID programmes. For example, through the Girls Education Challenge, DFID supported over 40,000 girls with disabilities, including girls who are deaf, to access an education in countries including Kenya and Uganda. Through the Disability Catalyst Programme, the UK supports Disabled Persons Organisations to advocate for the rights of deaf people in developing countries including Haiti and Rwanda, including projects preventing violence and advocating for access to education and employment.

Developing Countries: Voluntary Work

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to vet people who volunteer for overseas placements on Government-backed schemes.

Harriett Baldwin: We are committed to ensuring rigorous vetting of all volunteers on DFID-funded schemes. For example, on the International Citizen Service (ICS) programme, all volunteers are subject to medical clearance, two satisfactory references and a criminal background clearance. ICS agencies are required to check the criminal background of volunteers to the maximum level possible under the laws of their country of residence and comply with the UK DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Code of Practice.

Department for Education

Academies: Sponsorship

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to Question 127246, on Schools: Standards, if he will list the (a) number and (b) names of academy schools which have had their funding agreement terminated and have not yet been re-brokered.

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018. to Question 127246, on Schools: Standards, what the timescale was for each academy school which had its funding agreement terminated in the last 12 months to be rebrokered.

Nadhim Zahawi: There are no academy schools that have had their funding agreement terminated without a new trust identified to take over from the point at which termination comes into effect. The department would not leave a gap between funding agreements in any re-brokerage case, as the school would not be in receipt of any funding and therefore could not operate. The Deed of Novation and/or Variation is the preferred route when academies are being re-brokered; as the Deed of Novation and/or Variation gives greater continuity for the academy. The costs publication that lists the cases that have been re-brokered can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-transfers-and-grant-funding.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authority areas had their early years hourly funding rates reduced in 2017-18 compared with 2016-17; and what percentage that reduction in funding rate was for each local authority area so affected.

Nadhim Zahawi: 37 local authorities were protected by the transitional protection, which prevents any authority seeing an annual reduction in their three and four year old hourly funding rates of more than five per cent. Each area’s percentage change is shown in the attached table. For two year olds, all local authorities saw a seven per cent increase in 2017/18 from their 2016/17 hourly rate. Full details on early years national funding formula (EYNFF) funding rates to local authorities can be found in the document ‘EYNFF: local authority allocations for 2017 to 18’ at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/574003/EYNFF_local_authority_allocations_table.xlsx.



130832 Table 1
(Word Document, 25.5 KB)

Pre-school Education: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much supplementary funding will be allocated to local authorities for maintained nursery schools in (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.

Nadhim Zahawi: Maintained nursery schools (MNSs) make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children. Our supplementary funding of approximately £60 million a year enables local authorities to protect MNS funding until 2019/20. Initial allocations to local authorities in respect of the MNS supplementary funding for the financial year 2018 to 2019 are available in the 2018 to 2019 dedicated schools grant allocations table on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019. Final allocations for 2018 to 2019 will be made in the summer of 2019. Allocations for 2019-20 will be made in due course.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many working parents with 3 and 4 year olds in receipt of 30 hours of early years education (a) receive the Government's universal 15 hours of early education funding and (b) are not in receipt of the Government's additional 15 hours of early education funding for working parents.

Nadhim Zahawi: Children in receipt of 30 hours free childcare access the universal 15 hours of free childcare, as well as the extended entitlement to 15 hours free childcare for working parents. As of December 2017, an estimated 202,783 were in a 30 hours place. This figure is based on local authority data returns made in November 2017. We will be publishing the spring term data on Thursday 15 March 2018 and that will be available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/30-hours-free-childcare-spring-term-2018.

Primary Education: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Rushcliffe constituency attend a primary school rated as (i) good and (ii) outstanding by Ofsted.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) England attend a primary school rated as (i) good and (ii) outstanding by Ofsted.

Nick Gibb: The proportion of pupils in (a) Ashfield constituency (b) Rushcliffe constituency (c) Nottinghamshire and (d) England attending a primary school rated as (i) good and (ii) outstanding by Ofsted is available in the attached table. Ofsted’s latest release is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/maintained-schools-and-academies-inspections-and-outcomes-as-at-31-august-2017.



Table
(Word Document, 22.76 KB)

Secondary Education: Standards

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of secondary school pupils who are eligible for free school meals in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) England attend a school rated as (i) good and (ii) outstanding by Ofsted.

Nick Gibb: As set out in the Ofsted statistical first release (SFR) data[1] as at 31 August 2017 and Pupils data[2], there were 3,995 eligible pupils for free school meals, who attended a Secondary school in Nottinghamshire of which, 71 per cent were in schools rated by Ofsted as Good; and 18 per cent were in schools rated by Ofsted as Outstanding. There were 302,372 eligible pupils for free school meals who attended a secondary school in England of which: 55 per cent were in schools rated by Ofsted as Good; and 20 per cent were in schools rated by Ofsted as Outstanding. [1] Ofsted- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/maintained-schools-and-academies-inspections-and-outcomes-as-at-31-august-2017. [2] Pupils Data- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2017.

Primary Education: Standards

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of Key Stage 2 pupils who were (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals met the expected standards in (i) reading, (ii) writing, (iii) mathematics and (iv) all those three areas in England in 2017.

Nick Gibb: The proportion of Key Stage 2 pupils, who were (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals, who met the expected standard in the requested subjects, in 2017, is published in the Department’s ‘National curriculum assessments: key stage 2, 2017 (revised)’ statistical first release[1]. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-key-stage-2-2017-revised.

Department for Education: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Anne Milton: This information about apprentices is not held in the format requested. The number of apprentice starts for each year is as follows:YearNumber of apprentice startsWorkforce size2012/20133239002013/20141534802014/20153434802015/20166435502016/20175053302017/2018 *1075960 (Latest - January 2018)* Further apprentice starts may take place in 2017-2018

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make Personal, Social, Health and Economic education part of the statutory curricula.

Nick Gibb: The Department has conducted a thorough and wide-ranging engagement process, including a call for evidence that closed on 12 February, on the scope and content of Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education, and on the future status of Personal, Social, Health and Economic education. The Department is currently considering the responses to the call for evidence and representations through the engagement process. The Department will announce its plans in due course.

Schools

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 129125, on Schools, where that information is held.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested is contained within individual case files and not in a centrally recorded format. The purpose of visits can be varied in nature and reflective of the broad remit of the Education and Skills Funding Agency, and is therefore not aggregated.

Social Work England: Advisory Bodies

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release issued by his Department on 8 February 2018 on the consultation on Social Work England, if he will set out (a) the members and (b) the terms of reference for (i) the Advisory Group and (ii) the Regulatory Expert Group.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Social Work England Advisory Group includes key organisations from across the social work sector, employer representatives, education providers and service users. The membership of the group and the terms of reference are set out in attachment one. The Regulator Expert Group membership includes representation from a number of professional regulators. The membership of the group and the terms of reference are set out in attachment two.



Attachment One
(Word Document, 15.36 KB)




Attachment Two
(Word Document, 14.82 KB)

Children's Centres

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2018 to Question 124482, on Children’s Centres, what evidence his Department has gathered since September 2015 to inform a consultation on children's centres.

Nadhim Zahawi: Question 124482 referred to the answer to Question 118316. That answer referenced the gathering of evidence to consider what steps would be appropriate. The department has gathered evidence from numerous sources and held numerous discussions with representatives of stakeholder groups since September 2015, which contribute to the development of policy. We do not hold records of every discussion that has taken place. The government intends to work with sector leaders to identify how best to achieve the social mobility ambition set out in ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’, including through children’s centres. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/667690/Social_Mobility_Action_Plan_-_for_printing.pdf.

Free School Meals

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much free school meals monies is returned annually to the provider when not used by the intended child.

Nadhim Zahawi: Maintained schools, academies and free schools are required to provide free school meals to pupils of all ages that meet the eligibility criteria. In addition, since September 2014 all children in reception, year 1 and year 2 in England's state-funded schools, including academies and free schools, have been entitled to free school meals. In the current school funding system, no school receives specific funding for benefits-based free school meals. We allocate the dedicated schools grant (DSG) to local authorities on a per pupil basis, and local authorities then distribute DSG to schools through a local formula. The number of pupils in a school eligible for free school meals can be used to allocate additional funding in that local formula. It is then for schools to decide how to use their budget, including how much to allocate to pay for benefits-based free school meals. In addition, schools with infant classes receive separate funding for universal infant free school meals. No funding is provided to the child or their family and therefore is not returned to the school when meals are not taken up.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House of Commons: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Leader of the House, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by her Office are apprentices.

Andrea Leadsom: There are currently two apprentices who work in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons that are employed by the Cabinet Office. They make up 22% of the Leader's Private Office staff.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Horses: Databases

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to publish its summary of responses to its Consultation on changes to the identification of equines, published in Aril 2017.

George Eustice: Defra intends to publish a summary of responses to the consultation on changes to the identification of equines shortly.

Department For Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Apprentices

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

George Eustice: This Parliamentary Question has been answered factually for Core Defra only. As at 31 January 2018 the number of Apprentices employed in the department was 32 or 1% of the total payroll workforce.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on extending the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to cover indirect suppliers.

George Eustice: Ministers and officials from both departments worked closely on the Government response to the Call for Evidence on extending the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator. In our response, published on 16 February, we set out a range of measures to help farmers and small producers compete and thrive alongside larger businesses in the food supply chain.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Motor Vehicles: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the effect on the car industry in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. We are committed to getting the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for all parts of the UK, including the West Midlands and Coventry. We continue to engage with businesses and industry bodies from all regions and nations of the UK and all sectors of the economy, including the world-leading automotive industry, which exports £40bn of cars worldwide; in order to inform our negotiations.

Brexit

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he plans to publish the Computable General Equilibrium model estimates of the economic effect of the UK leaving the EU on other EU member states which are currently being undertaken.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis which is constantly evolving to support our EU exit negotiations and preparations. Ministers have a specific responsibility, which Parliament has endorsed, not to release information that could undermine our negotiating position. We have confirmed that when we bring forward the vote on the final deal, we will ensure that this House is presented with the appropriate analysis to aid it in making an informed decision.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Supply Estimates

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to in Central Government Supply Estimates 2017-18, HC808, if he will itemise the £22 million reduction in his Department's Estimates.

Suella Fernandes: The £22m figure is made of up of transfers to the National Archive, Cabinet Office, Foreign & Commonwealth Office and HM Treasury. The specific details can be found on page 921 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2017-18, HC808, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplementary-estimates-2017-18.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Sexual Offences

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney General, whether his Department plans to implement any of the recommendations of the report, Joint Serious Case Review Concerning Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adults with Needs for Care and Support in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, published by the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board and Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board.

Robert Buckland: Holding answer received on 05 March 2018



On 23 February 2018, Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board and Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board published their joint serious case review (SCR) for Operation Sanctuary. Specifically, CPS North East is working closely with Newcastle Crown Court and other partners within the Criminal Justice System to improve the experience of victims and witnesses when attending court and to ensure that the commitments to witness care set out in the Victim’s Code and the Witness Charter are properly delivered. Child sexual exploitation is abhorrent and the crimes perpetrated in Newcastle have had a devastating impact on the lives of the victims. The Government acknowledges the seriousness of the issues raised in this serious case review and is committed to improving the national response to tackling sexual exploitation.  More broadly, the Government has already taken significant action to tackle this issue. In February 2017, the Government published its Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation: Progress Report and announced a £40m package of measures to protect children and young people from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking, and to crack down on offenders. This included £7.5m for a new, ground-breaking Centre of Expertise that will identify, generate, and share high quality evidence of what works to prevent and tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation. The recommendations of the review cover a wide range of issues, which we will consider carefully in the context of this existing programme of work.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Stuart Andrew: The Wales Office currently has three apprentices, making 6% of our total workforce. Three other existing members of staff have completed apprenticeships at the Wales Office.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Suicide

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of suicides which took place in prisons were by people who were not on the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork programme in prison in each year since 2010.

Dr Phillip Lee: Holding answer received on 27 February 2018



The Government publishes statistics on deaths in custody quarterly, and updated detailed tables annually. They can be viewed at gov.uk. Self-inflicted deaths1 where prisoners were not on an open ACCT2, England and Wales, 2010 to 2017 20102011201220132014201520162017number4539414959557940proportion78%67%67%64%66%61%65%57%Notes:1 Because of the number of deaths that remain unclassified (awaiting further information) in more recent years, caution should be used when comparing with earlier periods.2 If a prisoner was not subject to the ACCT (Assessment Care in Custody and Teamwork) process at the time of the incident that resulted in death, the prisoner is described as not being on an open ACCT. Every death in custody is a tragedy. The Government takes very seriously its responsibility to keep prisoners safe. We have established a prison safety programme that includes a comprehensive set of actions, including: rolling out revised and improved training for staff in assessing and managing the risk of suicide and self-harm amongst prisoners; improving support for prisoners in their early days in custody; revising the ACCT case management process for those identified as being at risk; and funding the Samaritans to provide their valuable Listeners Scheme.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 receives input from a wide range of stakeholders.

Lucy Frazer: Yesterday, the Lord Chancellor launched the engagement phase of the Post-Implementation Review on the effects of the major changes to legal aid made by and under Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. We will be writing to some key stakeholders to take part in consultative groups.Alongside consultative group meetings we will also set up a route by which other interested parties can submit relevant analytical evidence.The Government plans to use this opportunity of engagement with stakeholders to inform its wider consideration on the future of legal support in the justice system.

Legal Representation

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to allocate funding from the public purse for legal representation in the Court of Appeal to families who have been refused legal aid.

Lucy Frazer: Legal aid continues to be available for the highest priority cases—for example, when an individual’s life or liberty is at stake, when someone faces the loss of their home, in domestic violence cases, or when children may be taken into care – subject to an applicant passing the test of means and merits. This includes all eligible cases that are taken to the Court of Appeal. All individual case funding decisions are taken by the Legal Aid Agency. Ministers are prevented by law from intervening in this process. It is important that these decisions are, and are seen to be, free from political and Government influence.

Legal Aid Scheme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of reinstating legal aid for early advice in family law cases.

Lucy Frazer: Legal aid for private family law cases in England and Wales was mainly removed from scope by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). However, legal aid is still available for some private family cases including mediation and for victims, and those at risk, of domestic abuse. The Lord Chancellor has confirmed that we shall conduct an evidence-based review of Part 1 of LASPO, assessing the changes against their objectives. This review will include changes made to provision of legal aid for private family law cases.

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the number of incidents of concerted indiscipline in prisons in (a) England and Wales and (b) HMP Bedford year on year from 2010 to 2018.

Rory Stewart: We are considering proposals to publish information routinely on concerted indiscipline and will confirm such plans when a decision has been reached.

Ministry of Justice: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

Dr Phillip Lee: There are currently 120 staff employed as apprentices in MoJ as part of the Fast Track programme. In addition, there are 104 members of staff undertaking an apprenticeship programme as part of their development. This equates to approximately 0.3% of workforce based on a headcount of 67,000. There are also 119 applications pending from staff wanting to complete an apprenticeship programme. Plans are in place to deliver the target of 2.3% of workforce undertaking an apprenticeship programme by the end of 19/20.

Gladstones Solicitors (Knutsford) and BW Legal

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many claims were made against people by companies or people instructing (a) Gladstones Solicitors (Knutsford) and (b) BW Legal in English and Welsh courts in the last 12 months.

Lucy Frazer: The number of County Court claims made against people by companies or people instructing the solicitors shown below in England and Wales in the last 12 months are: - SolicitorYear Case IssuedClaims(a) Gladstones201748,604(b) BW Legal201778,385 This data is management information and are not subject to the normal standards applied to official statistics.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Apprentices

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Scotland, what estimate he has made of the proportion of staff currently employed by his Department who are apprentices.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office employs apprentices, but due to the number involved, an estimate cannot be provide to protect the privacy and identity of individuals concerned.The Scotland Office are committed to apprenticeships as part of a modern employment route into the Civil Service and across the wider economy. The vision is to offer apprenticeships to everyone - of all ages, all backgrounds, all grades, all professions, across the UK.The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other Government bodies.

Cabinet Office

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Grenfell Tower fire survivors and families have received legal representation funded by the Government; and how much has been set aside to fund the legal representation of those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Oliver Dowden: Funding for legal representation for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire is a matter for the independent Grenfell Tower Inquiry, to be decided in line with the Inquiries Act 2005, the Inquiry Rules 2006, the Inquiry’s costs protocol (‘Protocol Relating to Legal Representation at Public Expense’) and the Prime Minister’s determination on funding.Paragraph 6 of the Inquiry’s costs protocol confirms that the Prime Minister has determined that the survivors and their families, the bereaved families and local residents affected by the tragic events at Grenfell Tower will automatically meet the requirements of the Inquiry Rules in respect of financial resources. A copy of the protocol can be found on the Inquiry’s website.The Inquiry will publish details of its expenditure after the end of the financial year. 



Grenfell Inquiry Legal Funding Protocol
(PDF Document, 447.27 KB)

Cabinet Office: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to which legislation his Department has applied the Family Test, published in August 2014.

Oliver Dowden: The Government's guidance on the family test is available on Gov.uk and provides that the test should be taken into account, if sensible and proportionate, when considering all new policies that might have an impact on the family, including those set out in legislation.

Cabinet Office: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to implement the guidance set out by the Government Commercial Function in its paper entitled Exiting Major IT Contracts: Guidance for Departments, published in November 2017, in respect of (a) using market engagement, (b) setting up disaggregation work, (c) risk assessment, (d) developing a programme plan through the transition, (e) identifying the skills and capabilities that will be needed in the future and (f) any other work related to that guidance.

Oliver Dowden: The Cabinet Office has a small number of Large Expiring IT Contracts. The large majority of Large Expiring IT Contracts that fall within the Government Commercial Function’s guidance are in other government departments.The Cabinet Office has been providing support, using expertise from Complex Transactions (GCO), Infrastructure and Projects Authority and Government Digital Service. This Strategic Support Team, known as “SST”, has been assisting central government departments to align their Large Expiring Contracts with this guidance.

Cabinet Office: EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which EU (a) Directives, (b) Regulations and (c) other legislation affecting his Department he is planning to propose the (i) revocation and (ii) amendment of after the UK leaves the EU.

Chloe Smith: The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will retain EU law as it applies in the UK on exit day.We expect between 800 and 1000 statutory instruments will be required across Government to correct this retained EU law to ensure the statute book functions appropriately outside the EU. The Bill will also give the devolved administrations powers to make similar corrections in devolved areas. All Departments are engaged in this process.Once we leave the EU, we will make our own laws. As we leave the EU, the Government’s EU exit legislative programme is designed to cater for the full range of negotiated and non-negotiated outcomes.

Construction: Procurement

Dr David Drew: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what analysis his Department has undertaken of the financial viability of those construction companies that have won public procurement projects with a contract value of more than £5m in the last five years.

Oliver Dowden: The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 require public procurers to award contracts through fair and open competition, in line with principles of equal treatment, transparency and non-discrimination.Suppliers have to meet certain criteria to be able to bid for public contracts, including a minimum level of financial and economic standing as determined by the public body running the procurement. This may be proven through turnover, audited accounts or other financial measures.These financial checks are carried out by the Contracting Authority who conduct their own risk assessments.

Procurement: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total value of goods and services procured from companies in Swindon by (a) all Government departments, and (b) all public bodies was in 2017.

Oliver Dowden: Information on public sector suppliers within a specific constituency is not held centrally.

Cabinet Office: Departmental Responsibilities

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the responsibilities of the Minister for the Constitution, what the term Cabinet Office domestic refers to.

Chloe Smith: Cabinet Office Domestic refers to the corporate services and internal functions within Cabinet Office. This includes Cabinet Office Security, Estates, Digital and Technology, Human Resources and Finance.

Armed Conflict

Nia Griffith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the National Security Risk Assessment 2015, whether International Military Conflict is still considered a Tier One risk.

Oliver Dowden: The National Security Risk Assessment is designed to support a collective understanding of the most significant risks facing the UK and our interests overseas. It is used to inform the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review and considers risks over a five year timeframe. In 2015, international military conflict was assessed to be a Tier One and this continues to be the case, taking into account both the likelihood and impact of potential scenarios.

Carrillion

Ian Mearns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he carried out any assessment of the effect of Carillion's liquidation on the viability of the small businesses in its supply chain in the UK prior to deciding not to support that company through the bail-out negotiations.

Oliver Dowden: We are doing everything we can to support Carillion’s subcontractors and suppliers impacted by this collapse, but taxpayers should not, and will not, bail out a private sector company for private sector losses or allow rewards for failure.We have also set up a taskforce to advise on the impact on small businesses and employees affected by Carillion’s insolvency. It will act as a means for government to communicate to those affected by Carillion’s liquidation, assess wider economic impacts and consider how to ensure that employees are provided with the right support to maximise rapid re-employment.

Cabinet Office: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts his Department holds with government strategic suppliers.

Oliver Dowden: Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Bank Services: Internet

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate access to online banking for people without internet access.

Oliver Dowden: The Government has ensured superfast broadband (speeds of 24 Mbps or more) is available to over 95% of UK premises and is continuing to invest to extend superfast coverage as far beyond 95% as possible. The Government is also introducing a Universal Service Obligation so that by 2020 everyone across the UK will have a clear, enforceable right to request high speed broadband (speeds of 10 Mbps or more). In the period before 2020, the Government has made a commitment to provide every home and business in the UK with access to basic broadband service (speeds of 2Mbps), which should be sufficient for online banking. A subsided broadband installation is available if the home or business cannot access an affordable broadband service with a speed of at least 2 Mbps.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Presidents Club

Helen Goodman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will (a) commission an investigation into how a lunch engagement with the Foreign Secretary came to be auctioned at the Presidents Club dinner of 18 January 2018 and (b) the findings of that investigation.

Chloe Smith: The Foreign Secretary had not agreed to support this event and knew nothing of his inclusion in the auction. The offer was not authorised and will not take place.

Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will widen the scope of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 to (a) include in-house lobbyists and (b) ensure that meetings with individuals from major internationals are required to be registered.

Chloe Smith: The Government is committed to transparency in lobbying. The Transparency of Lobbying Act 2014 complements the existing framework of industry-led regulation such as subscription to industry codes of conduct, and the publication of information about ministerial meetings. The Government has no plans to expand the remit of the Registrar or her office.

Cabinet Office: Voting Rights

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to mark the centenary of women getting the right to vote in 1918.

Chloe Smith: The Government is funding a programme of activity in England to mark this anniversary, under the leadership of the Government Equalities Office. Programme themes include “celebrate”, “inspire” and “remember” to increase national awareness and mark 100 years since women got the right to vote. They also include “educate” to increase young people’s knowledge of UK democracy and its importance, and increase their democratic participation. The final theme is “participate” to aspire to achieve gender parity in local and national politics by the centenary of the Equal Franchise Act by 2028.The Cabinet Office is helping to deliver this programme by leading on a number of projects under the “educate” theme. These are aimed at young people aged between 13 and 16 and at tackling barriers to their democratic participation. Planned projects include developing a secondary schools resource, working with the Department for Education, and a scheme to recruit and train youth democracy ambassadors. We are also developing a pack with ideas and materials for parliamentarians to engage young people, particularly those who are disengaged with our democratic processes.Within the Cabinet Office we are planning an events programme throughout 2018 to commemorate the centenary and champion equality, helping to ensure we make the Civil Service and Cabinet Office ever more inclusive.

Public Bodies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 23 of his Department's document Public Bodies 2017, published in November 2017, what work has been commissioned on the implementation of the recommendations as a result of  the functional review of regulators.

Chloe Smith: The recommendations of the functional review of regulators are being taken forward by regulators and their sponsor departments, coordinated by the Cabinet Office. Consultation on any changes to policy and practice will, where appropriate, be undertaken by the relevant regulator or department.

Cryptocurrencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many incidents of malware being used to illegally mine cryptocurrency have been reported by the Government since 2015.

Oliver Dowden: Two incidents of malware being used to illegally mine cryptocurrency have been reported by the National Cyber Security Centre since its formation in October 2016.The NCSC was established to simplify existing structures, bringing together the cyber security operations and information assurance arms of GCHQ, Computer Emergency Response Team UK (CERT-UK), the cyber elements of the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) and the Centre for Cyber Assessment. Prior to the NCSC’s formation, cyber incidents were recorded via differing means and to a variety of thresholds, and as such, figures prior to October 2016 are not available for comparison.

Departmental Coordination

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of departmental variations in finance, human resources and procurement processes on the development of shared services across government; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Dowden: Standardisation and convergence of processes enables the successful delivery of shared services. The Shared Services Strategy for Government, published January 2018, establishes the intention for process and data convergence across government; with departments adopting modern technology platforms for their back office, and to 'cluster' around these platforms for increasingly convergent shared service provision.Adoption of these technologies, particularly with increased automation, will facilitate greater standardisation of processes, data and ways of working between organisations, while allowing a small degree of flexibility according to necessary organisational and operational context.

Government Departments: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128095, on Government Departments: Procurement, whether any payment was made to that third party.

Oliver Dowden: We have no record of any payment being made to the third party whose services were available for departments to use in assessing contract portfolios.

Government Departments: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128092, whether it is his policy that contracts would be assessed to be of sufficient risk that Open Book Contract Management would be used in cases where the supplier of such contracts is a strategic supplier who has triggered one of the high risk criteria in the Strategic Suppliers Risk Management Policy.

Oliver Dowden: The extent of the application of Open Book Contract Management (OBCM) to each contract is dependent on the risk and complexity of that contract, as set out in the OBCM guidance published with PPN 05/16. It is for individual Contracting Authorities to determine in which tenders it would be appropriate to use OBCM procedures.

Electoral Register

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to promote voter registration.

Chloe Smith: The general election in June 2017 was held on the basis of the largest ever electoral register at just under 47m people.In December 2017, the Democratic Engagement Plan was published, setting out the Government’s commitment to encourage further democratic participation among a wide range of different groups. The plan also sets out how the government will undertake further research into the barriers that could be preventing individuals from applying to register to vote. Our overall aim is to ensure that the next scheduled general election in 2022 is the most inclusive ever.Democratic engagement is a particularly salient issue in 2018 given it is the Suffrage Centenary. The Government is supporting a range of related activity and is also hosting the first ever National Democracy Week in July. Both the Suffrage Centenary celebrations and National Democracy Week are expected to encourage people from all backgrounds to participate in our democracy, particularly focusing on under-registered groups.